HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Kate Bartolovich launched a pair of home runs and Jordan Harbacek made Division I history for the Northern Kentucky University softball team in a 7-0 victory over Green Bay to close out a Horizon League doubleheader on Friday night.
 
The win took the sting out of a comeback bid that fell just short as Green Bay took the opener, 8-7. With the results, NKU improved to 12-37 overall and 4-15 in Horizon League play. The 12 wins set a new high-water mark in a season for the Norse in the Division I era.
 
Game 1
 
Dani Devlin and Paige McQueen each posted two-hit games while Zahrya McFarland drove in three runs as the Norse dropped an 8-7 result in the opener.
 
Starters Ashlynn Roberts and Bailey Smaney kept the game in a scoreless tie until the top of the fifth inning, when Green Bay posted a five-run inning to shoot out to an early lead.
 
The Norse answered in the bottom of the inning after McFarland hit a bases-loaded double to left field to score Nicolette Hayes, McQueen, and Haley Curtis and cut the advantage to 5-3.
 
The Phoenix (17-29, 8-8 Horizon) went on to score three more runs in the sixth inning to bring their lead to 8-3.
 
The Norse rallied in the bottom of the seventh after Sydney Ferrante scored on a Dani Devlin single. NKU loaded the bases again as Hayes scored on a wild pitch leaving Kate Bartolovich and Devlin on second and third for Kara Meter, who drove both in on a two-run single to make it 8-7. The Norse got no closer, as Katie Rossman came in and got the final out of the game to claim her second save of the season.
 
Smaney (10-9) got the win for Green Bay, giving up seven runs on eight hits and striking out two in 6.2 innings. Roberts (0-7) allowed two earned runs in five innings in the loss, while Alyssa Enrique gathered two strikeouts in two innings of relief.
 
Game 2
 
Bartolovich became the first NKU player in the Division I era to hit two home runs in a game, driving in five runs in a 7-0 win for the Norse in the nightcap.
 
McFarland and Jordan Harbacek also had two-hit games as the Norse totaled nine knocks in the contest. Hayes extended her on-base streak to six games with a 1-for-3 effort, including a run scored.
 
Bartolovich's first bomb was a line shot to the center-field wall to take a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. Bartolovich homered again in the sixth inning, scoring McFarland and Hayes to take a 5-0 lead over Green Bay. Later in the inning, Kara Meter singled through the left side to score Paige McQueen and Alina Maher to reach the 7-0 final score.
 
Jordan Harbacek (8-12) became the first pitcher in the Division I era to throw back-to-back shutouts, scattering six hits and tying a career-high with six strikeouts in the win. Katie Rossman (6-10) took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits in the start.
 
NKU will play the third game of this series and the final home game of the season tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. Due to the schedule change, the game will not be carried on ESPN3.