HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team is set for its second Horizon League series of the season as it plays host to Oakland for a three-game set at Bill Aker Baseball Complex. The series begins Thursday with a 3 p.m. first pitch.

Game two will be played Friday at 3 p.m. while the finale is set for Saturday at noon.

Links to live stats and audio are available at NKUNorse.com. The audio broadcast is set to begin 20 minutes prior to first pitch with coach and player interviews.

Fans who plan to attend are asked to park in the Kenton Drive garage.

Gameday Information
Oakland Golden Grizzlies (7-11, 1-2 Horizon League)
at Northern Kentucky Norse (7-13, 0-3 Horizon League)
Bill Aker Baseball Complex | Highland Heights, Ky.
Thursday, March 24 – 3 p.m.
Oakland: Sr., RHP Joe Buchalski
NKU: Jr., RHP Kyle Colletta
Friday, March 25 – 3 p.m.
Oakland: RSo., RHP Jake Lee
NKU: Jr., RHP Justin Watts
Saturday, March 26 – Noon
Oakland: Jr., RHP Tyler Palm
NKU: So., RHP Pat Kelley

WEEKEND PROMOTIONS: Thursday's series opener will serve as "Throwback Thursday" with throwback jersey giveaways and NKU history trivia. Saturday will be the Strikeout Cancer game as the American Cancer Society will have representatives and cancer survivors on site to throw out the first pitch and to host a bake sale with proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society. Following Saturday's game, players will sign autographs and kids can run the bases.

LAST TIME OUT: The Norse last saw action when they defeated Northwestern, 7-1, at home. Pitchers Matt Ianni and Nick Beard combined to limit the Wildcats to just three hits and one run after NU entered the contest hitting .288 as a team. Ianni made his first collegiate start and fanned five over 4.0 innings of work. Nick Beard allowed a single hit in 5.0 scoreless innings of relief to improve to 2-0 this season. Trey Ganns went 3-for-4 on the day with an RBI as NKU scored its seven runs across four different innings.

SCOUTING OAKLAND: The Golden Grizzlies are 7-11 overall and 1-2 in the League after defeating UIC, 5-4, in the series opener last weekend. The Golden Grizzlies were shut out by the Flames in the final two games of the series as their team batting average dipped to .221. Oakland is led by 11th-year head coach John Musachio who is the program's all-time winningest coach. Mike Brosseau leads the squad with a .288 average while Tyler Pagano and Ian Yetsko are tied with 12 RBI apiece.

Teams are batting .272 against Oakland pitchers. The staff owns a 4.53 ERA, which ranks second in the League. Thursday starter Joe Buchalski has accrued a 2.39 ERA in 26.1 innings pitched and five starts. Buchalski has a team-best 29 strikeouts and has held opponents to a .202 average. Game two starter, Tyler Palm owns a 3.70 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched while game three starter Jake Lee checks in with a 5.96 ERA and 22.2 innings pitched.

SERIES HISTORY: The all-time series between NKU and Oakland is tied at one game apiece. The teams split a doubleheader on March 24, 1990. The Norse took game one, 3-2, and fell in game two 10-6.

LEADING THE LEAGUE: Will Haueter, who has seen action primarily as a designated hitter, sits atop the Horizon League in batting average (.388) and on-base percentage (.462). The redshirt freshman has helped NKU to a .276 team average which ranks second in the League behind Valpo. Haueter is also second in the League in doubles (eight), tied with Trey Ganns, to help the Norse rank 25th in the NCAA in doubles per game at 2.32. Additionally, Logan Spurlin entered the week ranked third in slugging percentage (.517) while Quint Heady is fourth in stolen bases after going 8-of-8 to start the year.

SPURLIN'S SERIES: In the last two weekend series, Spurlin has posted 11 hits and eight RBI across seven games. He has also crossed the plate four times, belted a pair of home runs and drew three walks. Between the four-game set at Alabama State and three-game Valparaiso series, the senior catcher batted .407. On the season, Spurlin is hitting .310 with a team-best 15 RBI.

HOT STREAK CONTINUES: Shortstop Dominic Mercurio extended his hit streak to seven games on Tuesday against Northwestern. Mercurio has 12 hits and four RBI in that span after batting 6-for-13 last weekend against Valpo. The sophomore is batting .414 across the last seven games, three of which are multi-hit showings. His recent tear has boosted his season average to .281.

KEY RELIEVERS: The Norse have a trio of relievers with a sub-3.00 ERA who have been credited with four of NKU's seven wins. Nick Beard has tossed nine consecutive scoreless innings with four hits and five strikeouts. Of his 17 total innings pitched, 12 of them have been scoreless to move his ERA to a team-best 2.12. Charlie Jerger has allowed three runs in 11 innings of work for a 2.45 ERA. Aric Harris has matched Jerger with 11 innings pitched and nine total appearances. Harris has not walked a batter since his first outing on Feb. 21 and has struck out 14.

UP NEXT: Following the Oakland series, NKU will gear up for a pair of midweek games. The Norse travel to take on Kentucky on Tuesday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. before turning around to host Butler on Wednesday, March 30 at 3 p.m.