HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky baseball travels to Cincinnati for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday before hosting the Bearcats at Bill Aker Baseball Complex on Sunday at noon in the finale of a three-game series.

First pitch for the opener is set for 5 p.m. at Marge Schott Stadium. Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m.

Live video will be available for Friday and Saturday's games courtesy of GoBearcats.com. Live stats and audio will be available for all three games with links on NKUNorse.com

Gameday Information
Northern Kentucky Norse (7-11, 3-0 Horizon)
vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (10-10, 0-0 American)

Friday, March 24 – 5 p.m. at Cincinnati
NKU: Jr. LHP Trey Ganns
UC: Sr. RHP Andrew Zellner

Saturday, March 25 – 1 p.m. at Cincinnati
NKU: Jr. RHP Pat Kelley
UC: Jr. LHP J.T. Perez

Sunday, March 26 – 12 p.m. at Northern Kentucky
NKU: TBA
UC:

LAST TIME OUT: Northern Kentucky split a pair of midweek games on the road to Eastern Kentucky and Miami (Ohio). NKU laced three homers in a 10-8 loss at EKU as 13 of the game's 18 runs were scored on home runs. Against Miami, NKU pitchers held the RedHawks to just three hits on the afternoon. With the game knotted at 3-3 in the top of the ninth, junior Trey Ganns slapped a three-run double to secure a 6-3 victory that handed head coach Todd Asalon his 500th win at Northern Kentucky.

500 WINS: Norse head coach Todd Asalon recorded his 500th win at Northern Kentucky as the Norse defeated Miami (Ohio) on the road, 6-3, on Wednesday. Asalon is in his 17th year at the helm of the program and boasts a 500-435-1 record at NKU. Prior to Northern Kentucky, Asalon served as head coach at nearby Thomas More College for six years during which time he also served as the TMC athletic director for two years. Asalon owns a 644-527-1 career record in 23 years as a head coach.

HEATING UP: NKU has won four of its last five contests behind .327 hitting at the plate, a .526 team slugging percentage and .429 on-base percentage. The Norse have belted eight homers in the last five games.

While reigning Horizon League Batter of the Week Jake Richmond continues his recent tear, batting .500 (10-for-20) with three homers, eight RBI and a 1.000 slugging percentage over the last five contests, junior Mike Moffatt has also seen recent success at the dish. The outfielder is batting .467 (7-for-15) with five runs scored, three RBI and a home run in the last four games.

OUT OF THE 'PEN: Sophomore right-hander Cameron Ross leads Horizon League with 12 total relief appearances, which ranks 20th in the NCAA. The Hebron, Kentucky, native has a 0.00 ERA and has held opponents to a .226 average in his last six appearances. In his last six games, he has been awarded two saves and has picked up the win in each of his last two appearances – against Milwaukee on March 19 and Miami (Ohio) in midweek action on Wednesday. In that span, Ross has totaled 8.1 innings pitched and has allowed one unearned run and seven hits while striking out six.

QUICK HITS:

• Ganns and Will Haueter have led the Norse on the road this season, each batting .327 on opponents' turf.
• Freshman Brendan Alas made his first collegiate start at EKU on Tuesday. The second collegiate hit of his career was a three-run blast. He has opened his career batting 2-for-5.
• NKU has hit .330 or better in each of the last two weekend series. The Norse hit .330 against Milwaukee and .352 at Radford.
• NKU is 6-5 with 21 doubles, one triple and eight home runs so far in the month of March.
• Entering the week, Dominic Mercurio, Richmond and Ganns were each in the Horizon League's top-10 in batting average. Richmond and Alas also entered the week leading the League in runs scored with 17 and 16, respectively.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS: Cincinnati is 10-10 on the season and has won three of its last four games, which includes a 6-3 midweek win over No. 1 Louisville on Tuesday. The Bearcats are 6-1 at home. A.J. Bumpass leads the offense with a .333 average on 23-for-69 hitting. Nine of his 23 hits have been for extra bases including three triples. Connor McVey is the RBI leader with 13. As a team, Cincinnati is batting .226 on the season while opponents are averaging .224. The Bearcats score 3.7 runs per game, holding opponents to 3.6.

The Bearcats' staff ERA of 3.11 ranks 30th in the NCAA. They have struck out 121 while issuing 67 walks. David Orndorff leads the bullpen with four saves in five appearances out of the bullpen. UC is expected to send RHP Andrew Zellner (1-1, 3.09 ERA, 8 BB, 27 K, 32.0 IP) and LHP J.T. Perez (1-3, 4.11 ERA, 10 BB, 25 K, 30.2 IP) to the mound to start games one and two. Sunday's hurler is TBA.

SERIES HISTORY: The all-time series between the Norse and Bearcats dates back to NKU's first season of baseball in 1972 when Cincinnati won the first meeting between the teams, 8-0.

Head coach Todd Asalon is 0-1 against the Bearcats as the teams have only met once since the 1996 season with that meeting falling on March 20, 2013 at Cincinnati. NKU fell to the Bearcats, 4-3. The Norse and Bearcats were scheduled for a pair of games in 2014, both of which were cancelled due to rain.

ON DECK: NKU will take on Miami (Ohio) in midweek play for the second-straight week as the Norse welcome the RedHawks to Bill Aker Baseball Complex on Tuesday, March 28 for a 3 p.m. first pitch. NKU then travels to Dayton for a Wednesday, March 29 game at 4 p.m.