HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky softball hosts Oakland for a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 18. First pitch against the Golden Grizzlies is set for 2 p.m. ET.
 
LAST TIME OUT: NKU took on the top team in the Horizon League, falling to UIC in all three games of a series on April 13-14. In the first game, Ava Lawson had an outing similar to the one that helped her earn Horizon League Player of the Week honors on April 9, clubbing back-to-back solo home runs in NKU's 12-4 setback. Lawson added one more RBI in the second game of the Friday doubleheader, as did Zahrya McFarland and Kara Meter. UIC closed out the series with a 7-3 win on Saturday, with Lawson and Sydney Ferrante both going 3-for-4 from the plate. Ferrante was involved in all of NKU's runs, driving in one run while scoring two.
 
SEASON NOTABLES: NKU finds itself among the Horizon League's top statistics in several categories. The Norse lead the League in batting average (.291), while ranking third in scoring (4.09 runs per game), ERA (3.99) and slugging percentage (.371). Individually, Sydney Ferrante ranks second in the League and is No. 80 nationally with .91 RBI per game and tops in the nation with seven sacrifice flies. Her .412 batting average is the third-highest in the Horizon League and No. 61 nationally, while her .657 slugging percentage is fourth in the League.
 
SCOUTING OAKLAND: Oakland holds a 9-21 overall mark and is 3-5 in the Horizon League. The Golden Grizzlies most recently dropped a doubleheader at Wright State, both in extra innings, before the series finale was cancelled. Madison Jones has been Oakland's top batter with a .352 average, 32 hits, 20 RBI and seven home runs. In addition to knocking in the most round-trippers in the League, Jones is also tops in triples per game and slugging percentage (.692). Kelsie Swanson is second on the team in batting average at .304 and helps move her runners along the base path with .20 sacrifice hits per game, good for third in the League. In the circle, Haley Zemmer has recorded seven of Oakland's nine wins this year, striking out 50 batters through 79.2 innings pitched. Chelsea Wiggins also spends a considerable time in the circle with 41 strikeouts in 55.2 innings of work, but holds a 1-9 record and a 6.31 ERA.