HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky softball recorded its first series win since joining the Horizon League with a five-inning 11-3 victory over Youngstown State. NKU went 2-1 against the Penguins, with both victories by run rule after NKU had a 9-0 win in Wednesday's series opener. With the win, NKU moved to 11-26 overall and 5-7 in Horizon League play, already matching the HL win total from a season ago, while YSU drops to 17-24 (5-7 HL).
At the Plate
- NKU's hot bats enjoyed continued success with 11 hits, holding YSU to just two.
- Junior third baseman Sydney Ferrante stole the show with a 3-for-4 performance with six RBI and two runs scored of her own.
- Senior DP Dani Devlin went 1-for-1 with a two-run home run and drew two walks.
- For the first time this season, every starter in the batting order registered a hit.
- Freshman centerfielder Ava Lawson and sophomore catcher Kara Meter drove in a run apiece, both going 1-for-3 from the dish.
In the Circle
- Senior Charlie Nolen recorded her second win of the series after pitching a six-inning shutout on Wednesday. In the rubber game, Nolen tossed five innings with four strikeouts while walking just one batter.
Key Moments
- The Norse were the first to score, plating four runs in the third inning. Ferrante laced her first single of the game through the left side, advancing to second on the throw after Zahrya McFarland and Toree Stalter crossed the plate. She was driven in immediately after when Devlin blasted a homer to center field to give NKU the 4-0 lead.
- A three-run home run allowed Youngstown State to pull within one run in the top of the fourth, but the Norse answered back with five runs in the bottom of the frame.
- Ferrante once again recorded a two-RBI single, this time to center field to send Isabell Alexander and Kailey Rossiter across the plate. She was driven in by Meter off a single to right field, and Lawson ended the frame with an RBI single to score Devlin while Meter scored on the throw.
- In the fifth, Paige McQueen led off with a single up the middle before Kate Bartolovich was walked as a pinch hitter. Ferrante came up big in her final at-bat of the series, doubling to left field to drive McQueen and Rossiter in and end the game courtesy of an 11-3 run ruling.
Norse Notes
- The all-time series with the Penguins is now tied at 3-3.
- The series win marked the first that NKU has had since joining the Horizon League in 2016, and the first overall series win since going 2-1 against Alabama State on March 14-15, 2015. It is the first series win against a conference opponent since sweeping ETSU on April 13-14, 2013.
- Ferrante's six RBI broke the Division I-era record, and are the most runs batted in since Emily Schwaeble recorded eight RBI against Cedarville on April 19, 2012. It also marks the second time this season that a Norse has recorded at least five RBI in a game. Ava Lawson drove in five runs on March 25 against Valparaiso.
- For the series, Ferrante hit .500 and drove in nine runs while scoring five of her own.
- Devlin batted .571 with a 1.857 slugging percentage with a home run in each game. With 12 homers on the season, she has tied her career high for home runs in a single season.
- Devlin recorded her sixth multi-RBI game of the season, while Ferrante posted her third.
- Devlin and Stalter have now reached base in the past 11 games, while Lawson has a 10-game streak.
Up Next
- NKU has little turnover before its next series, with the Norse heading to Chicago for a Friday-Saturday series with UIC on April 14-15. The series starts with a single game on Friday at 4 p.m. CT/5 p.m. ET and concludes with a Saturday doubleheader slated for a noon CT/1 p.m. ET first pitch.
SCOUTING UIC: The Flames sit atop the Horizon League with a 24-17 overall mark and an 11-1 record in League play. The defending regular season champions are headlined by the reigning HL Pitcher of the Year, Elaine Heflin. The righty hurler paces the League in strikeouts per seven innings (7.5) and holds teams to the fewest hits per seven innings (5.30). The Flames have multiple other players who rank high among League players, including the reigning HL Freshman of the Year Lexi Watts, who paces the League in hits (53) and triples (4), while ranking second with a .402 batting average. As a team, UIC boasts the lowest ERA in the League at 2.46, and have offensive firepower as the No. 17 team in the nation in triples per game with .32 per contest, which helps the Flames plate 4.34 runs per game for the second-best scoring in the League. UIC swept the series last season in Chicago, outscoring the Norse 22-6 throughout the three-game set.
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