HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky baseball team wraps up the 2017 home slate on Friday when it plays host to Oakland in a noon doubleheader at Bill Aker Baseball Complex. The Norse then turn around to take on Youngstown State in a doubleheader on the road at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Friday's doubleheader will also serve as Senior Day as nine players including TJ Alas, Ty Amann, Brad Bohlen, Kyle Colletta, Jean-Francois Dionne, Jake Hickey, Charlie Jerger, Conor Ledger and Seth Rosenberg will be recognized in a pre-game ceremony. Friday's games will also be carried on ESPN3.

Live audio will be available for Saturday's games at Youngstown State in addition to live stats for each of the weekend's contests.

Gameday Information
Northern Kentucky Norse (17-30, 10-13 HL)
vs. Oakland Golden Grizzlies (12-33, 9-14 HL)
OAK: Sr. RHP Connor Fannon / Sr. RHP Aaron Dehn
NKU: RSr. RHP Jean-Francois Dionne / RSr. LHP Charlie Jerger

Northern Kentucky Norse
at Youngstown State Penguins (15-31, 9-17 HL)
NKU: TBA
YSU: TBA

LAST TIME OUT: The Norse won one of four games last weekend, taking game one of a doubleheader at Wright State, 13-10, before falling to the Raiders, 13-3. TJ Alas clubbed a trio of three-run home runs in the twinbill to post nine RBI on the day. In a doubleheader against Milwaukee, the Norse were swept by the Panthers by scores of 15-0 and 8-1.

LEAGUE STANDINGS: With seven conference games remaining in the regular season, NKU sits third in the Horizon League with a 10-13 HL record. Milwaukee, Valparaiso and Oakland are in a three-way tie for fourth with matching 9-14 records while YSU sits in seventh at 9-17. UIC and Wright State are tied for first with 18-5 records in League play.

The top six teams in the League qualify for the Horizon League Championship on May 24-27 at the site of the top-seeded team. The first round of the tournament is single-elimination while subsequent rounds follow a double-elimination format.

QUICK HITS:

• Fresh off a three-home run, nine-RBI showing last weekend, TJ Alas has a League-best .745 slugging percentage in HL games. Thirty of Alas' 42 RBI have come in League contests. The redshirt senior is currently riding a 38-game on-base streak and ranks 29th in the NCAA in total home runs with 14.
• Northern Kentucky has a 9-7 record at home this season and is hitting .325 with 28 home runs and 40 doubles across 16 games at Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
• The Norse rank 18th in the NCAA in doubles per game, averaging 2.17. They have 102 total doubles, which ranks 22nd in the nation. They are also 27th in both home runs (54) and home runs per game (1.15).
• Trey Ganns leads the Norse with a .343 average and is tied with YSU's Andrew Kendrick for the League lead in RBI with 43. The junior exploded for a .446 batting average with 21 RBI, 14 runs scored, 11 doubles and six home runs across a span of 14 games (April 9-30).
• As a team, NKU is batting .301 with runners on base this season.
• In conference games, relievers Seth Rosenberg (1.04 ERA, 8.1 IP), Jordan Menfee (1.50 ERA, 18.0 IP) and Cameron Ross (2.59 ERA, 31.1 IP) each have a sub-3.00 ERA.
• Ross also ranks sixth in the nation in total pitching appearances with 29 and has a 3.72 season ERA, which sits in the League's top-10 along with his .244 opposing batting average.
• NKU owns a 13-3 record when leading after six innings. That improves to 14-0 when leading through seven and 16-0 when leading through eight.
• Redshirt senior Jean-Francois Dionne, a Quebec, Canada native, will be making his ninth start of the season on Friday. The right-hander has thrown a season-high 6.0 innings three times this season.
• Fellow redshirt senior Charlie Jerger is expected to start game two. It will be his third start of the year and 22nd overall appearance. The southpaw has allowed one run and two hits with five strikeouts in his last 4.0 innings of work, spanning three appearances out of the bullpen.

SCOUTING OAKLAND: Oakland is coming off a pair of doubleheader splits at UIC and Valparaiso last weekend. Its win in game two of a doubleheader at UIC on May 5 snapped a five-game losing streak.

Oakland ranks sixth in the HL in batting average (.256) and sixth in ERA (6.59). Opponents are batting .303 against the Golden Grizzlies' pitching staff. Zach Sterry leads the team with a .344 batting average and has started all 46 games. He leads in RBI (43), home runs (13) and doubles (14). Tyler Pagano is the only other Golden Grizzly batting over .300. He is hitting .322 with 39 RBI. Oakland has stolen 33 bases on the season while opponents have stolen 84.

Connor Fannon (6.27 ERA, 37.1 IP) will start game one, followed by Aaron Dehn (7.12 ERA, 24.0 IP). Jared Burkert has a team-high four saves in 15 appearances and 14.0 innings pitched.

SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE: YSU is 1-4 over its last five games, splitting a doubleheader at Valparaiso last weekend before being swept by Wright State in a doubleheader the following day.

The Penguins rank seventh in the HL in batting average (.255) and seventh in ERA (6.95). Opponents are batting .311 against YSU. The Penguins are second behind NKU in total home runs with 44 this season, led by Andrew Kendrick's school record 14 homers, which is tied with NKU's TJ Alas for the League lead. Nineteen of Kendrick's 40 total hits this season have been either a double or a home run. Lorenzo Arcuri has a team-best .291 batting average while Kendrick is the RBI leader with 34.

Joe King is third in the League in saves with six and has finished 14 games for the Penguins. The reliever has made 23 total appearances and leads in innings pitched with 54.0.

SERIES HISTORIES: NKU is 1-6 all-time against Oakland after the Golden Grizzlies went 5-0 against the Norse last season. Northern Kentucky batted .238 against Oakland last season while the Golden Grizzlies hit .315 against Norse pitchers.

NKU hosted Youngstown State in a three-game series March 31-April 2. NKU won games one and three by scores of 15-8 and 6-3. The Norse lost game two, 6-3. Northern Kentucky clubbed nine home runs and scored 28 total runs in the three-game set while reliever Cameron Ross was lights-out against YSU, totaling 7.1 innings of work with no runs, one walk and eight strikeouts. The all-time series between the Norse and Penguins is led by NKU, 7-2.

ON DECK: The Norse take on No. 8 Kentucky in the final nonconference game of the season on Tuesday, May 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The regular season then concludes with a three-game series at Oakland May 18-20.