HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team is set to play a pair of midweek contests. The Norse will host Butler on Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex. NKU President Dr. Ashish Vaidya will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
NKU will then make the short trip across the river on Wednesday to face Cincinnati. First pitch for that contest is scheduled for 4 p.m., and live video will be available.
Northern Kentucky vs. Butler
Tuesday, March 26 – 3 p.m. – Bill Aker Baseball Complex –
Live Stats
Northern Kentucky vs. Cincinnati
Wednesday, March 27 – 4 p.m. – Cincinnati, Ohio –
Live Video
TAKING A LOOK AT THE NORSE
The Norse are 4-16 on the year and 3-3 in the Horizon League after dropping a series to Milwaukee.
Andrew Bacon leads the team with a .324 batting average. He has five doubles, two triples, two home runs, 12 RBI and eight runs.
Will Haueter is hitting at a .320 clip with five doubles, a home run, eight RBI, and 14 runs scored. A pair of freshmen,
Griffin Kain and
Sam Hedges, are hitting .298 and .288, respectively.
Griffin Doersching leads the team with 16 RBI.
SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Will Haueter was named one of 30 candidates for the 2019 baseball Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
During his time at NKU, Haueter has volunteered his time with a number of organizations including the Children's Hospital, Down Syndrome Association, American Cancer Society, Team Impact, Read Across America, and the Disabled American Veterans.
Haueter graduated last spring with a degree in finance, maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA in the process. He was selected as the U.S. Bank/Haile School of Business Most Outstanding Student in Finance. In addition, he was named the recipient of NKU's prestigious Regents Award, which is given to one senior student from the university who has demonstrated professionalism and leadership within the university's community and who has an emphasis on continuation of graduate-level work. The award is sponsored by the Northern Kentucky University Board of Regents.
Haueter was named to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America First Team, as selected by CoSIDA. He also earned Horizon League All-Academic Team honors and was named the 2018 Horizon League Male Spring Scholar-Athlete. Currently, Haueter is working on his master's degree in integrative studies at NKU, and he has a 4.0 GPA.
In addition to his success in the classroom, Haueter was named to the All-Horizon League First Team last season. He hit for a .360 average in 2018, which ranked first in the Horizon League. He was second in the league in doubles (19), on-base percentage (.451), and slugging percentage (.600).
HORIZON LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Bacon was named the Horizon League Batter of the Week, and
Joe Martin earned Horizon League Pitcher of the week honors on Monday, March 18.
Bacon went 6-of-11 (.545) at the plate from March 15-17 with a home run, six RBI, and three runs scored. In the 13-5 victory over Youngstown State, Bacon batted 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs. One of his hits in the game was a home run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
He followed that performance with another 3-for-4 outing in the 7-6 win over the Penguins on Saturday, March 16. Bacon scored a run and had two RBI in the contest to help NKU get the victory. Bacon leads the team with a .315 average this season.
Joe Martin helped the Norse get two out of their three wins against Youngstown State. In the 13-5 win on March 15, Martin pitched 3.0 scoreless innings and picked up a save. He didn't allow a hit or walk to the 10 batters he faced, and he also struck out four hitters.
On Saturday, March 16, Martin earned the win on the mound in NKU's 7-6 victory. He threw 2.0 innings, giving up an unearned run and two hits. He also struck out three batters.
SCOUTING BUTLER
Butler is 13-9 on the year, after winning two of three games against Valparaiso this past weekend. Harrison Freed leads the team with an impressive .440 batting average. He has recorded three doubles, three triples and seven home runs on the season. In addition, Freed has knocked in 28 RBI and scored 23 runs. Kyle Smith is also having a good season with a .347 average. Smith has recorded eight home runs, which leads the team. He also has 28 runs and 20 RBI.
The Norse are likely to see left-handed pitcher Joe Graziano on the mound. Graziano is 0-2 this season, but has a 2.87 ERA. He has made five appearances, including three starts. In 15.2 innings pitched, he has struck out 10 batters.
SCOUTING CINCINNATI
The Bearcats enter Wednesday's contest with an 8-14 record. The team most recently picked up a series win against American Athletic Conference foe South Florida this past weekend. After falling in the first game of the series, UC won the final two contests to take the three-game series. As a team, the Bearcats are hitting .218 on the year. Joey Bellini leads the team with a .333 average. He has two doubles, six runs, and five RBI. Jeremy Johnson is hitting .253 this season, and he has 10 RBI on the year.
BOBBY FONG AWARD
The NKU baseball team was named the recipient of the Horizon League's Bobby Fong Award in 2018. The award encompasses the league's values of integrity, respect and stewardship and is presented to one current Horizon League student-athlete or team. The award is named for the late Dr. Bobby Fong, a former Butler University president who served on the Horizon League Board of Directors from 2001-2011. The NKU baseball team has historically been the leader of the athletic department in the area of community service and impact. The team participates in a number of volunteer opportunities throughout the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati areas.
UP NEXT
The Norse are scheduled to travel to Oakland this coming weekend for a Horizon League series. The series begins on Friday, March 29 with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. in Rochester, Michigan.
