HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team hit three home runs en route to a 7-4 victory over Jacksonville University in Atlantic Sun Conference action on Saturday at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
Ryan LeFevers went 3-for-4 and scored one run to lead NKU, which improved to 17-26 overall and 5-9 in the Atlantic Sun, while
Cody Kuzniczci finished 3-for-5 with one run scored. Heady drove in three runs with his two hits for the Norse, who collected 14 hits on the day and left nine base runners stranded.
Cody Cooper (5-3) pitched 8.1 innings of relief for the victory on the mound for NKU, allowing just one run on six hits. He struck out three batters and walked two.
After Jacksonville gained a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, NKU pulled to within one in the second. Kuzniczci led off the Norse frame with a single to center field before
Logan Spurlin sent a 2-1 blast over the left-field wall for his third home run of the season.
Cole Bauml tied the game in the next inning with his eighth home run of the season, a 0-2 shot that bounced off the scoreboard in right field. NKU took the lead in the bottom of the fourth.
Trey Ganns hit a lead-off single but was out on the next play as
Anthony Vagnier reached on a fielder's choice.
A LeFevers single through the left side sent Vagnier to second, and a
Dominic Mercurio ground out advanced both runner a base, bringing Heady to the plate. Heady then sent a 1-0 pitch into the gap in left-center field for a two-run double and 5-3 Norse lead.
Jacksonville cut the NKU advantage to one (5-4) in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by Dylan Dillard, which scored Austin Hayes who doubled down the right-field line, but the Norse answered in the bottom half on Gann's third home run of the season, which went over the wall in left-center field on the first pitch of the inning.
Anthony Vagnier was then hit by a pitch, and
Dominic Mercurio followed with a single through the right side, sending Vagnier to third. After a Dolphins pitching change,
Quint Heady laid down a squeeze bunt, which scored Vagnier to push the Norse lead to 7-4 for the final margin of the game.
Angelo Amendolare went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored to pace Jacksonville, which fell to 20-25 on the year and 6-8 in the conference. Connor Marabell and Dillard each drove in runs for the Dolphins, who finished with eight hits and stranded seven runners.
Spencer Stockton (3-3) took the loss in the start for Jacksonville. He gave up five runs on 10 hits with two strikeouts and one walk over six innings of work.
NKU and Jacksonville wrap up the three-game series on Sunday at noon. A link to live stats is available at nku.statbroadcast.com, and John Asalon's ASun.TV broadcast can be found at NKUNorse.com. Fans can also track the game's progress by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.
