HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky baseball team clinched its second-straight Horizon League series on Sunday, defeating Youngstown State, 6-3, behind strong pitching from starter
Pat Kelley and reliever
Cameron Ross at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
NKU improves to 10-16 overall and 5-1 in conference play as YSU falls to 6-18 and 3-6 in the Horizon League.
At the Plate
- NKU put the leadoff man aboard in every inning en route to out-hitting the Penguins, 11-10.
- Jake Richmond, Trey Ganns, Mike Moffatt and Brad Bohlen each posted two hits apiece to mark the second time in the series that NKU had four players with a multi-hit game.
- Redshirt freshman catcher Zach Heming led the team with two RBI, both off sacrifice bunts.
- The NKU offense struck out just once on Sunday.
On the Mound
- Kelley tossed 6.0 complete innings giving up two runs, just one of which was earned. The Penguins clubbed seven hits against the right-hander who struck out three and walked one.
- Brody Basilone started the seventh inning on the mound before Ross made his Horizon League-leading 17th appearance out of the bullpen.
- Ross finished the game with 2.2 shutout innings and allowed just two hits to earn his fourth save of the season.
- Norse pitchers limited the Penguins to one run and four hits across the final six frames.
Key Moments
- After a scoreless first for both squads, Moffatt shot a single down the first-base line to score Dominic Mercurio for a 1-0 lead in the second.
- The Penguins capitalized on four hits and a Norse error in the top of the third to jump ahead, 2-1. Kelley was able to limit the damage after YSU loaded the bases with one out.
- Bohlen knotted the game at 2-2 in the fourth with a single to score Colletta as NKU scored a single run in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames.
- The Norse regained the lead at 3-2 in the fifth with a leadoff double from Ganns who scored on a double-play.
- In the sixth inning, Heming knocked his first safety squeeze bunt of the day to score Moffatt for a 4-2 advantage. He would do the same to score Moffatt again in the eighth for the final run of the game.
- A groundout RBI from YSU cut the Norse advantage back down to one, but Colletta would score on a throwing error just before Heming scored Moffatt for the 6-3 result.
Norse Notes
- Northern Kentucky is 5-2 in Kelley's starts. Kelley's record improved to 2-1.
- In his last two starts, Kelley has allowed three runs, two earned, in 13.0 innings. He is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA and has fanned nine while walking just two.
- In his last 11 appearances dating back to a March 4 contest at Georgia State, Ross has tossed 18.1 innings with a 0.49 ERA. He has allowed just two runs (one earned) on 14 hits and has struck out 16 while walking three in that span. The right-hander owns a 0.00 ERA in 12.1 innings pitched against Horizon League foes.
- Against the Penguins this weekend, Ganns batted .455 (5-for-11) with a double, two homers, three RBI and five runs scored. He slugged 1.091 and posted a .571 on-base percentage.
- In NKU's five games this week, Moffatt batted. 400 on 8-for-20 hitting with four doubles and a home run. He drove in three, was 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts and scored five runs for NKU.
- Mercurio reached base in his 19th consecutive game on Sunday- the longest streak for any Norse this season.
Up Next
- The Norse conclude their homestand with a Tuesday, April 4 midweek matchup against in-state foe Eastern Kentucky. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.