HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team returns to Horizon League action this weekend, hitting the road for a three-game series at Valparaiso. Friday's series opener begins at 3 p.m. Central (4 p.m. Eastern), with the series wrapping up on Saturday with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Central (2 p.m. Eastern).
 
Northern Kentucky University Norse (8-21, 1-2 Horizon)
Valparaiso University Crusaders (5-20, 0-3 Horizon)
April 1 – 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET)
April 2 – 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) (DH)
VU Softball Field (250) – Valparaiso, Ind.
Series History: NKU leads, 1-0
 
Last Time Out
The Norse dropped a midweek matchup to Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday, 9-0. Dani Devlin and Nicolette Hayes each extended their hitting streaks to four and three games, respectively, in the contest.
 
Scouting Valparaiso
The Crusaders snapped a six-game losing streak on Tuesday by sweeping a doubleheader against Bowling Green by scores of 4-3 and 6-0. Kaitlyn Ranieri and Taylor Nadler pace the Crusaders' offense, with Ranieri boasting a team-best .333 batting average and Nadler slugging .661 with a team-best 14 RBI. Taylor Lawson is the team's speedster, successful in all 13 stolen-base attempts this yeaer. In the circle, Taylor Weissenhoffer stands at 3-6 on the year with a 6.02 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 66.1 innings of work.
 
The Series
The only previous meeting between the teams came in the 1991 season, with the Norse claiming victory by a 4-3 score.