HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky baseball team travels to Radford for a four-game weekend series to close out its season-opening month-long road swing. Friday's series opener has been moved to 12 p.m. and has been changed the a doubleheader, which was originally scheduled for Saturday. The Norse will now play single games at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the Radford Baseball Stadium in Radford, Virginia.

The four-game set will also serve as the final nonconference tune-up before NKU opens Horizon League play next weekend against Milwaukee at home.

A live video stream will be available for both games of Friday's doubleheader. Fans can also follow along with live audio and live stats.

Gameday Information
Northern Kentucky Norse (2-8)
at Radford Highlanders (3-10)
Radford Baseball Stadium | Radford, Va.

Friday, March 10 – 12 p.m. (doubleheader)
NKU: Jr. LHP Trey Ganns/Jr. RHP Pat Kelley
RU: Jr. LHP Zack Ridgely/Sr. RHP Danny Hrbek

Saturday, March 11 – 1 p.m.
NKU: RSr. RHP Jean-Francois Dionne
RU: TBA

Sunday, March 12 – 1 p.m.
NKU: TBA
RU: TBA
 
LAST TIME OUT: Northern Kentucky won 1-of-3 games at Georgia State last weekend. The Norse took the finale, 8-7, after scoring seven runs across the first four innings. Dominic Mercurio went 3-for-5 with three RBI while Chad Roberts went 3-for-4 at the dish. The win came after the Panthers defeated the Norse 10-6 in the opener and 12-4 in game two.

SERIES LEADERS: Jake Richmond and Roberts led NKU at the plate in the three-game series at GSU with Richmond batting .455 and Roberts batting .417, each with five hits apiece. Meanwhile, Trey Ganns and Mercurio led with three RBI apiece in the series as they both batted .385.

NEARING 500: Head Coach Todd Asalon, who is in his 17th season at the helm of the program, is just five wins away from securing his 500th victory at Northern Kentucky. Asalon has amassed a 495-432-1 record at NKU and owns a 639-524-1 record in his 23rd year as a head coach.

SEEING DOUBLE: The Norse have clubbed 14 doubles in the past four games for 20 total on the season, just one fewer than Horizon League-leader Oakland. Richmond and TJ Alas are tied with a League-leading five doubles apiece. Northern Kentucky has slapped double-figure hits in three of its last four contests including a season-high 15 in the series finale against Sacramento State on February 26. NKU has totaled 44 hits in the last four games, 21 of which were for extra bases.

QUICK HITS:

• Richmond is riding a six-game reached base streak and has reached base in all but one contest this season. The junior has also recorded a hit in each of the last five contests, a season-best streak for any Norse.
• NKU is batting .417 with runners on third and less than two outs.
• Both of NKU's victories have come in RHP Pat Kelley's starts.
• After batting .385 against Georgia State, Mercurio became NKU's batting leader with a .357 average on 10-for-28 hitting, which ranks fifth in the League. He is also tied for second on the team in RBI with five.
• Alas is in the Horizon League's top-10 in slugging percentage (.511), hits (13), total bases (24) and doubles (five).

ON THE MOUND: NKU is expected to send left-hander Trey Ganns to the mound for game one on Friday. Ganns tossed 4.2 innings against Georgia State in his last outing, allowing six hits and three runs. He has tossed all three series openers for the Norse this season, totaling 12.1 innings. Kelley will get the start in game two for his fourth start this year. In NKU's win over GSU, Kelley held Georgia State to one hit and no runs across his first four innings of work. The Panthers broke through Kelley in the fifth inning as the junior allowed seven hits and five runs in his 4.0 innings. The anticipated starter for Saturday's game is Quebec, Canada native Jean-Francois Dionne who will be making his first appearance as a Norse.

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS: Radford (3-10) is led by 10th-year head coach Joe Raccuia and is coming off a midweek split against George Mason. The series will serve as the home opener for the Highlanders who went 11-13 at home last season. Radford is batting .212 while opponents are batting .288 against Highlander pitchers. Three players are batting over .300 led by Straton Podaras who is batting .400 across his four games played. Kyle Butler is batting .344 (11-for-32) while Matt Roth owns a .333 average (16-for-48). Richard De La Cruz is the squad's RBI leader with seven.

On the mound, the RU pitching staff owns a 6.61 ERA. Left-hander Zack Ridgely is expected to throw game one on Friday. He owns a 5.60 ERA and will be making his fourth start of the season. Ridgely has walked just three batters and struck out 14 in his 17.2 innings of work. Reigning National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National Pitcher of the Week Danny Hrbek will toss game two. The righty tossed the first nine-inning no-hitter in Radford history in a 4-0 win over Quinnipiac on March 4.

ON DECK: Northern Kentucky hosts Milwaukee in its home opener on March 17 at 3 p.m. NKU will take on the Panthers in a three-game series that continues at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 18 and noon on Sunday, March 19 at Bill Aker Baseball Complex, which recently received an artificial turf renovation making the entire playing surface synthetic turf.