HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky softball will make the short trip to Richmond, Kentucky, to face in-state foe Eastern Kentucky in a midweek matchup on Wednesday, April 17. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. ET.

LAST TIME OUT: The Norse won their third-straight Horizon League series with a 2-1 advantage over Green Bay this past weekend. NKU kicked off the series with a 6-2 victory on Friday behind a 3-for-3 performance from Kit Rocco and a complete game from Taylor Ginther with four strikeouts and no batters walked. Green Bay used a six-run sixth inning in the second game of the series, but the Norse came out on top in a grinding three-hour, 12-inning finale. The Phoenix took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning, and NKU managed to knot the score in the sixth. In the second at-bat of the 12^th inning, Zahrya McFarland clubbed a triple to right field and advanced home as the throw to third base bounced off McFarland's back and toward the Green Bay dugout, allowing her to score the winning run. Ginther pitched another complete game, striking out a career-best seven batters and allowing just two runs.
 
SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY: The Colonels were picked to win the Ohio Valley Conference in this year's preseason poll, and Eastern Kentucky has lived up to that expectation as it is tied for first in the conference standings with a 12-4 record and is 25-14 overall. EKU has won seven games in a row, allowing no more than two runs in each of the contests. The Colonels sit in the top-50 of national rankings in several statistics, ranking 40^th in the nation with 1.00 home runs per game and 44^th nationally with a .299 batting average. EKU also averages 5.45 runs per game, good for No. 49 nationally. Individually, Hannah Clark ranks 19^th nationally with 1.13 runs batted in per game, and is No. 50 in national standings, along with Sammi Miller, with 52 hits on the year. Miller and Clark both have impressive batting averages, with Miller batting .391 while Clark is right behind her at .374, and four more Colonels are batting above .300 on the season. Clark and Destinee Lizzmore have contributed the most extra-base hits, with Clark clubbing 10 doubles and 11 homers on the year while Lizzmore has 11 doubles and 10 home runs. The Colonels use a primary core of three pitchers: Mollie Paulick, Samantha Reynoso and Bethany Todd. Reynoso holds the top winning percentage on the team with an 8-1 record, while Paulick leads the team with 104 strikeouts to rank 36^th nationally in strikeouts per seven innings. Paulick also ranks third nationally with six saves this season and holds a team-best 2.72 ERA. The Colonels hold a 7-2 advantage in the all-time series, winning all seven contests since NKU's transition to Division I. The two teams met last year on April 18, when EKU claimed a six-inning win.