HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team is set to travel to Oakland for a doubleheader on Friday and will turn around to host League-leading Wright State in a doubleheader at home on Sunday. First pitch for both games is set for noon.
Due to weather concerns, the ESPN3 broadcast of game one at Oakland has been cancelled.
The action for both games against the Raiders will be carried on ESPN3. Links to the broadcast and live stats for each contest are available at NKUNorse.com.
Gameday Information
Northern Kentucky Norse (15-22, 4-11 Horizon League)
at Oakland Golden Grizzlies (14-13, 5-4 Horizon League)
Friday, April 22 – Noon (DH)
Oakland Baseball Field | Rochester, Mich.
NKU: Sr. RHP Tyler Miller / Jr. RHP Justin Watts
Oakland: Sr. RHP Joe Buchalski / R-So. RHP Jake Lee
Wright State Raiders (24-12, 8-3 Horizon League)
at Northern Kentucky Norse
Sunday, April 24 – Noon (DH)
Bill Aker Baseball Complex | Highland Heights, Ky.
WSU: TBA/TBA
NKU: TBA/TBA
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse last saw action when they defeated Dayton, 4-3, in 11 innings on Wednesday. The Flyers claimed an early 3-0 lead before four Norse relievers combined for 9.2 scoreless innings. The strong showing from the bullpen was anchored by Charlie Jerger who threw a season-high 5.2 scoreless innings. Anthony Vagnier forced a Dayton error to score Tito Montgomery for the game-winning run in the 11th inning after NKU tied the game in the bottom of the ninth.
SCOUTING OAKLAND: The Golden Grizzlies sit in fifth place in the Horizon League standings with a 5-4 League record and dropped two games against Valparaiso in a three-game set last weekend. Earlier this season, Oakland swept NKU in a three-game set March 25-26. Entering the week, Oakland had the second-best ERA in the Horizon League at 4.07 as the pitching staff has held opponents to a .262 clip. Game one starter Joe Buchalski ranks in the top-10 in the League in ERA at 2.92.
Mike Brosseau is the only Golden Grizzly batting over .300. He is averaging .320 for 10th in the HL. Brosseau has a League-leading seven home runs and a .573 slugging percentage. The Golden Grizzlies are batting .242 as a team.
SCOUTING WRIGHT STATE: The Raiders are the defending League champions and currently sit atop the League standings with an 8-3 record in HL contests. NKU earned its first Horizon League victory over the Raiders on April 2 by a score of 6-4, but WSU came away with the series win.
The Raiders own a League-best 3.68 ERA and have held opponents to a .247 average. Offensively, JD Orr is batting .318 this season with 16 RBI. Ryan Fucci is the RBI leader with 31 and has scored 26 runs. As a team, WSU is batting .259.
ANCHORING THE BULLPEN: Charlie Jerger, Nick Beard and Aric Harris lead the bullpen in innings pitched and have combined for a 3.45 ERA across 73.1 innings of work. Jerger has 29.1 innings pitched across 16 appearances and has accrued a bullpen-leading 2.76 ERA this season.
He is followed by Nick Beard with 23.2 innings pitched and a 4.56 ERA in nine appearances while Aric Harris has thrown 20.1 innings, giving up just seven earned runs in 17 appearances for a 3.10 ERA. Harris has fanned 23 batters while issuing just five walks to help the trio post 60 total strikeouts and 24 walks this season.
NEARING 500: With 17 games left this season, head coach Todd Asalon is 12 wins shy of his 500th at NKU. Asalon owns a 488-412-1 record in his 16th season at the helm of the program and is 632-504-1 overall in his 22nd year as a head coach. As a team, NKU needs just five more wins to record the program's 1,300th. The all-time program record sits at 1,295-984-2 (.568) in its 44th season.
TITO IN APRIL: Tito Montgomery, a junior outfielder, has batted .464 (12-for-28) in the month of April to raise his average from .205 to .306. He has posted nine RBI this month to push his season total to 11. Additionally, nine of his RBI this season have come with two outs. Montgomery has been consistent at the plate in League play, batting .311, with the help of a 6-for-13 showing with five RBI in the last League series at Youngstown State.
ODDS AND ENDS:
· Logan Spurlin is riding a team-best 21-game on-base streak and sits in the top-10 in the Horizon League in on-base percentage (.440), batting average (.342) and slugging percentage (.550).
· Norse pitchers have fanned 89 batters across 15 Horizon League games, which ranks second in the League. Twenty-nine of those batters have been struck out looking, a League-best mark.
· The Norse have clubbed 10 or more hits on 16 occasions and are 12-4 when matching or out-hitting an opponent.
· Norse pinch hitters have batted .368 this season (7-of-19) led by Ty Amann who is 3-for-4 in pinch hitting situations.
UP NEXT: Following Sunday's doubleheader, NKU opens a nine-game road swing beginning with a midweek matchup at Ball State on Tuesday, April 26. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
