@NKUNorseBSB continues League play at Valparaiso this weekend
 
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky baseball team is in search of its third-straight Horizon League series win this weekend when it travels to Valparaiso for a three-game set against the Crusaders. The series, which was altered due to weather and field conditions, begins with a 1 p.m. ET doubleheader on Saturday at Emory G. Bauer Field. The finale is set for 2 p.m. ET on Sunday.
 
Links to live stats and audio are available at NKUNorse.com
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Gameday Information:
Northern Kentucky Norse (10-17, 5-1 Horizon)
at Valparaiso Crusaders (10-16, 1-5 Horizon)
Emory G. Bauer Field | Valparaiso Ind.
 
Saturday, April 8 (DH) – 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT
NKU: RSr. RHP Jean-Francois Dionne / Jr. LHP Trey Ganns
Valpo: Sr. RHP Mario Losi / Jr. RHP Wes Gordon

Sunday, April 9 – 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
NKU: Jr. RHP Pat Kelley
Valpo: So. RHP Grant Inman
 
LAST TIME OUT: NKU fell in its lone midweek game this week, 6-5, to Eastern Kentucky at home. The Norse put the game-winning run on first base in the bottom of the ninth but could not push a run across in the final frame. Will Haueter went 3-for-4 at the dish. Trey Ganns clubbed a three-run home run to help NKU out to an early 3-0 lead in the contest.
 
NORSE IN LEAGUE PLAY: The Norse currently sit third in the Horizon League standings behind UIC who owns an 8-1 League record and Wright State who is undefeated at 9-0. The NKU offense enters the weekend leading the League in runs scored (158), hits (258), doubles (57), slugging percentage (.416), total bases (391) and walks (106).
 
In Horizon League contests only, the Norse lead in batting average (.338), slugging percentage (.595) and on-base percentage (.419). They have 14 homers across six League contests. Youngstown State, which has played three more League games than NKU, has belted the second-most homers in League games with 10.
 
Jake Richmond's .444 batting average in League contests is ranked second, just above Brad Bohlen and Kyle Colletta who are tied for third in League games with a .409 average. Richmond is also second in slugging percentage at .750 and is the League leader in on-base percentage (.516) in HL games.
 
Cameron Ross is one of three pitchers who owns a 0.00 ERA against Horizon League foes. Ross has appeared in five of NKU's six HL games and has tossed 12.1 relief innings. He has fanned 11, walked three and allowed 12 hits, just one for extra bases.
 
QUICK HITS:

• Northern Kentucky is 5-2 in Pat Kelley's starts. He is 2-1 on the year and is set to make his eighth start of the season on Sunday. In his last two starts against Cincinnati and Youngstown State, 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 those games.
• 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. He is tied for 14th in the nation in pitching appearances with 17.
• In five games last week, Mike 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.
• The Norse have 57 doubles in 27 games. They rank 50th in the NCAA in doubles and 36th in doubles per game (2.11). TJ Alas leads the squad with nine doubles this season.
• Ganns is batting .338 (22-for-65) with three doubles, a home run and 11 RBI in road contests this year.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS: The series serves as Valpo's home opener as the Crusaders opened the 2017 season with 26 consecutive road games. Valparaiso has won just one of its first six League games after opening conference play against the 9-0 Wright State Raiders. Two weekends ago, Valpo won 1-of-3 at now second-ranked UIC before being swept in a three-game nonconference series at Wichita State last weekend.
 
The Crusaders rank fourth in the Horizon League in batting average at .253 and are third in ERA at 3.79. Nate Palace has started every game and owns a .318 average, which ranks eighth in the League, to go along with a team-high 19 RBI. Palace has belted six of Valpo's 12 total home runs. James Stea has a League-best 15 stolen bases on 20 attempts and is eighth in the NCAA in stolen bases per game (0.60). He is batting .292 on the year.
 
Opponents are batting .273 against Valpo's pitching staff. A trio of right-handers are expected to start on the mound for the Crusaders this weekend, each starting his eighth contest of the year. Mario Losi will toss the opener. Losi leads the team in innings pitched with 37.2. He has struck out 19, walked 16 and has accrued a 5.02 ERA. Wes Gordon, the team's strikeout leader, will throw game two. He has fanned 21 while issuing just six walks in 34.1 innings. Grant Inman leads the trio of starters with a 4.55 ERA and will start in the finale.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Valparaiso leads the all-time series, 5-4, with six of the teams' nine total meetings coming last season. The Crusaders won the most recent meeting, 10-7, in the first round of the Horizon League tournament on May 25 at Wright State's Nischwitz Stadium. The Norse swept Valparaiso in a doubleheader on May 8 on the road last season by scores of 12-4 and 9-4 after Valpo swept the Norse at home in NKU's first-ever HL series as a member of the League.
 
Last year, Haueter batted 8-for-22 (.364) with four walks, three RBI and six runs in six games against the Crusaders.
 
ON DECK: The Norse will host Miami University Hamilton for a 3 p.m. game at Bill Aker Baseball Complex on Tuesday, April 11 before hitting the road again for a three-game set at UIC April 13-15.