HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – After inclement weather disrupted the scheduling of Northern Kentucky softball's first two home series, the Norse will take to the field in a neutral-site doubleheader against Fort Wayne on Saturday, March 31. NKU was previously scheduled to play the Mastodons at home at 1 p.m., but field conditions prompted a location change. The games will now be played at Ulmer Stadium at the University of Louisville at 3:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse were previously scheduled to start Horizon League play against Oakland on March 23-24 and Wright State on March 27-28, but rainy conditions in Highland Heights proved to be the enemy and resulted in the rescheduling of both series, which will now be played as doubleheaders. NKU will take on Wright State on Wednesday, April 4 at 2 p.m., when the Norse were scheduled to host Morehead State. The Wright State doubleheader will take place on Tuesday, April 17 at 2 p.m., a date which originally had the Norse on the road at Eastern Kentucky. Both the Morehead State and EKU games are being postponed with dates to be determined.
NKU went 3-1 at the Skyhawk Hampton Inn Classic, taking two games against Akron and one against host UT-Martin. The Norse started off the weekend with their second shutout of the season, blanking Akron in six innings, 8-0.
Ashlynn Roberts threw just the second complete-game shutout of her career. On the second day of action, the Norse claimed a pair of four-run wins, 6-2 over Akron and 5-1 over UT-Martin.
THE AWARDS KEEP ROLLING IN: Senior pitcher
Ashlynn Roberts was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on March 19, after her complete-game, six-inning shutout over Akron, 8-0. Roberts did not allow a single earned run in her nine innings of work at the Skyhawk Hampton Inn Classic. The award marks the first time since 2011 when two different NKU pitchers were honored in the same season (Ashley Gates, Emily Schwaeble) after
Taylor Ginther garnered distinction on March 5. It is also the first time in program history that NKU had four different players honored in the same season, with
Madi Mulder and
Sydney Ferrante were named the Horizon League Players of the Week on March 5 and 12, respectively.
SEASON NOTABLES: NKU finds itself among the Horizon League's top statistics in several categories. The Norse rank second in scoring (4.55 runs per game), batting average (.292) and slugging percentage (.351), and are also producing defensively with the second-best ERA in the League at 3.57. NKU is also averaging 1.10 doubles per game, ranking third among Horizon teams. Individually,
Sydney Ferrante leads the League and is No. 60 nationally with 1.00 RBI per game, with
Madi Mulder right behind her in the Horizon standings with .95 RBI a game. Ferrante is also tops in the nation with seven sacrifice flies and is currently second in the Horizon League in batting average (.400) and doubles per game (.30). Freshman
Josie Frazier is currently leading the League in runs per game, crossing the plate .85 times a contest.
SCOUTING FORT WAYNE: The Mastodons hold a 12-20 record this season, recently going 2-3 at the Miami Invitational before a 1-0 setback at Bowling Green. As a team, the 'Dons are batting .229 and allowing opponents to post a .287 clip. Morganne Denny tops the stat sheet with a .295 batting average, 17 runs scored and 16 RBI, leading the team in hits and RBI and ranking second in runs scored. Maria Palmegiani has also driven in 16 runs this year and is the toughest player in the Summit League to strike out with just four in her 96 at-bats. In the circle, Bailey Benefiel has been the team's go-to pitcher with 93 strikeouts through 103.2 innings pitched, which puts her at second in the Summit League and top-75 nationally. Benefiel holds a 2.90 ERA and has picked up eight of Fort Wayne's 12 victories.
