HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team welcomes Milwaukee to Bill Aker Baseball Complex for the 2017 home opener and Horizon League opener March 17-19. The Norse and Panthers will face off in a three-game series set to begin Friday at 3 p.m. The series continues on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at noon.

Links to live stats and audio are available at NKUNorse.com.

Admission is free for all home games throughout the season.

Gameday Information
Milwaukee Panthers (7-8) at Northern Kentucky Norse (3-10)
Bill Aker Baseball Complex | Highland Heights, Ky.
Friday, March 17
UWM: Jr. RHP Austin Schulfer
NKU: Jr. LHP Trey Ganns
Saturday, March 18
UWM: Sr. RHP Adam Reuss
NKU: RSr. RHP Jean-Francois Dionne
Sunday, March 19
UWM: Sr. RHP Jay Peters
NKU: Jr. RHP Pat Kelley
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse won 1-of-3 last weekend at Radford and batted .352 as a team across the weather-shortened three-game set. NKU won the series opener 10-5 and recorded a season-high tying 15 hits as Brad Bohlen went 4-for-5. NKU distributed its 10 runs across four different innings. Starter Trey Ganns picked up the win after tossing 6.0 frames. Northern Kentucky then fell by the same score, 10-5, in game two after Radford jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the first and led the rest of the way. The Highlanders won the finale, 7-3, as the Norse struggled to string together their 13 total hits.
 
SERIES LEADERS: Last weekend against Radford, Ganns batted .556, going 5-for-9 with four runs scored. Bohlen and Mike Moffatt also posted five hits across the last three games. Chad Roberts and Will Haueter led with three RBI apiece in the series. All six Norse relievers who saw action out of the bullpen last weekend combined for a 1.08 ERA after allowing just one earned run in 8.2 innings of work.
 
TURF RENOVATIONS: Friday's home opener will be the first game on Bill Aker Baseball Complex's new synthetic turf. The field recently underwent an artificial turf installation to remove the natural grass playing surface in the outfield, and dirt bullpens and warning track and replace each with synthetic turf. The entire facility is now synthetic turf after the infield was renovated in 2013. Prior to the 2016 season, the pitcher's mound was also replaced with artificial turf. Bill Aker Baseball Complex was originally constructed in the fall of 1973 and in 2001 was dedicated to legendary 28-year NKU baseball coach Bill Aker who was inducted in to the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013.

STREAKS CONTINUE: Seven different Norse batters are on a four-game hitting streak or better. Jake Richmond is currently riding an eight-game hit streak, a season-best for any Norse. In the last eight games, the junior has batted .345 with 10 hits, three doubles, two RBI and seven runs scored. He has reached base in nine-straight games, and has reached in all but one of NKU's 13 contests. Ganns, Roberts and Mercurio are each on a seven-game hit streak. Twelve of Ganns' 14 total hits have come in the last seven games as the junior is batting .462 (12-for-26) with five RBI, eight runs scored and a .563 on-base percentage.

MARCHING ALONG: So far in the month of March, NKU is batting .309 as a team and has a 2-4 record. With 13 doubles across the first six games on the month, the squad owns a .369 slugging percentage and is reaching base at a .377 clip. Dating back to the last seven games, the Norse have 82 hits and are averaging .314 at the plate in that span.

BULLPEN LEADERS: Cameron Ross is second in the HL in appearances with nine, all in relief. The sophomore earned a save at Georgia State and has allowed one earned run and two hits in his last 4.0 innings spanning four appearances. Seth Rosenberg has four appearances in which the right-hander threw at least 1.0 inning without allowing a run. Meanwhile, Brody Basilone leads the Norse with a .207 opponent batting average. He has allowed three runs in 8.1 innings pitched for a 3.24 ERA.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS: Milwaukee is third in the Horizon League standings with a 7-8 overall record. The Panthers have won two of their last seven games and won 1-of-3 against UT Arlington last weekend. Milwaukee finished second in the HL last season with a 32-26 overall record including a 17-11 mark in the Horizon League. Chris Kelly paces the offense with a .385 average while Daulton Varsho is close behind at .339 with a team-best 12 RBI. Nine of Varsho's 20 hits have been for extra-bases as he has four home runs and a .661 slugging percentage, ranked third in the League.
 
The Panthers are fifth in the HL in batting average at .253 while the pitching staff leads the Horizon League with a 3.44 ERA. Austin Schulfer is the anticipated starter for Friday. He has a 3-1 record and is second in the Horizon League with a 1.46 ERA. He has held opponents to a .216 average, walking eight and striking out 22 (fourth in HL). He is also one of just two league pitchers with three victories already in 2017.  
 
SERIES HISTORY: NKU posted a 1-4 record against Milwaukee last season, which marked the first meetings between the two teams. The squads first met late last season with a three-game set April 29-May 1. NKU's lone win against the Panthers came in the finale of the three-game series in which Trey Ganns struck out a Division-I program best 14 batters in 7.2 innings pitched at Miller Park in Milwaukee to earn Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week honors. The Norse shut out the Panthers, 3-0.

Will Haueter saw offensive success against Milwaukee last season, batting 7-for-12 for a .583 clip with five RBI in three contests. At the plate, Ganns went 5-for-14 in four games against Milwaukee for a .357 average.

ON DECK: Northern Kentucky opens midweek play next week with a pair of games at Eastern Kentucky and Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday, March 21 and Wednesday, March 22.