HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky baseball has one final midweek matchup of the regular season, an 11 a.m. showdown at local rival Cincinnati.
Northern Kentucky vs. Cincinnati
Tuesday, May 14 – 11 1.m. – Cincinnati, Ohio –
Live Video |
Live Stats
A QUICK GLANCE AT THE NORSE
NKU is 13-37 on the year and 11-16 in the Horizon League, good for fourth in the league standings. The team is most recently coming off a series setback at Wright State, as the Raiders claimed all three games.
A LOOK AT THE BEARCATS
Cincinnati heads into Tuesday's late-morning showdown with a 24-27 overall record and 13-11 mark in the American Athletic Conference, which has the Bearcats in third place. Joey Bellini has a team-high .301 batting average, while AJ Bumpass leads the team in RBI (33) and runs scored (31). On the mound, eight pitchers have tossed at least 30 innings on the season. AJ Kullman leads the way with 58.2 IP and a 4.91 ERA in 18 appearances. Korren Thompson is the team's closer, securing nine saves with a 4.56 ERA.
TOURNAMENT SEEDING
With one Horizon League series remaining, seeding for the Horizon League Championship will be on the line when Northern Kentucky takes on UIC to close out the regular season, May 16-18 in Highland Heights. NKU has guaranteed itself either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed, and will face Oakland in the opening round of the league tournament as the Golden Grizzlies have also secured the fourth or fifth seed opposite NKU. The Norse went 4-2 against the Golden Grizzlies this season, but the two teams cannot end up tied in the league standings due to an uneven number of games played, which leads to conference winning percent serving as the determining factor. NKU holds the advantage, but final seeding will not be settled until later in the final series.
AT THE DISH
Will Haueter leads NKU in batting, hitting a team-best .296 with 37 runs scored, also a team high. He is third on the team in RBI with 29, trailing
Griffin Doersching's 40 and
Andrew Bacon's 33. Bacon and
Jake Murray are second on the team in batting with a .263 average. Doersching has clubbed 12 home runs this year, while Haueter has belted seven and Bacon six.
ON THE MOUND
Joe Martin's 5.56 ERA leads Northern Kentucky. The senior also sports a 3-1 record with five saves.
Sam Williams paces the Norse with four wins and has been the team's workhorse with 70.2 IP through 13 starts. Williams has fanned 78 batters, while issuing just 31 walks.
Gunnar Barnard and
Cameron Ross have each made 19 appearances and hold 6.04 and 6.84 ERAs, respectively.
UP NEXT
The Norse wrap up the regular season with a three-game series versus UIC at Bill Aker Baseball Complex, May 16-18.
