HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky softball makes the short trip to Dayton, Ohio, for a midweek series against Wright State on Tuesday-Wednesday, April 2-3. The series starts with a Tuesday doubleheader at 4 p.m., with both games broadcast on ESPN+. Wednesday will feature a single game at 4 p.m., with live stats provided.
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse were only able to get two games in over the weekend, but both outings resulted in NKU victories over Oakland. In the first game of Friday's doubleheader, Oakland went ahead by a pair of runs before the Norse took the lead off a two-run single by
Isabell Alexander and an RBI groundout from
Toree Stalter. The Golden Grizzlies reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the frame, but
Ava Lawson and
Madi Mulder each drove in a run to give NKU a 5-4 victory.
Taylor Ginther pitched the complete game, striking out three batters and allowing just one earned run. In the second game of the doubleheader, the Norse took an early lead, starting with a solo homer from
Zahrya McFarland. However, the Golden Grizzlies went out to a 5-2 lead by the fifth frame. With two outs in the seventh inning as the Norse trailed 5-3,
Taylor Hoover delivered a three-run home run to give NKU the late victory, 6-5.
Hailey Whitmer picked up her second collegiate win with two hits surrendered and one strikeout in 3.0 innings of work.
SCOUTING WRIGHT STATE: The Raiders sit at 14-18 overall and 2-4 in Horizon League action, suffering a series sweep to Detroit Mercy before winning a road series at Green Bay, 2-1. Wright State has two batters hitting above .300, with Rebekah Lenos leading the charge at .316 with 23 runs scored. Madison Whitaker is batting .312 and slugging a team-high .532 after driving in 21 runs. Olivia Otani and Makenna Durieux have spent the most time in the circle, pitching 71.1 and 80.1 innings, respectively. Durieux leads the pitching staff with 51 strikeouts, but holds a 4.53 ERA and has allowed 38 extra-base hits compared to Otani's 3.63 ERA and 20 extra-base hits allowed. NKU holds the slight edge in the all-time series with the Raiders, 10-9, but Wright State holds an 8-2 edge since NKU's transition to Division I. When the two teams met last year, NKU took the series against the Raiders with a pair of victories, but fell in the Horizon League Tournament on May 9.
