HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky baseball will play three more games at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex as the Norse are set to host UIC in the final series of the regular season on Thursday-Saturday, May 16-18. First pitch on Thursday is slated for 3 p.m. ET, while Friday's contest is set for 1 p.m. The Norse will honor their senior class approximately 20 minutes prior to Saturday's noon start. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
TAKING A LOOK AT THE NORSE
The Norse are 13-38 after suffering a one-run setback at cross-river foe Cincinnati. In Horizon League play, NKU holds an 11-16 mark, good for fourth in the league standings.
Will Haueter leads the team in batting, hitting a team-best .304 with 38 runs scored. He is also third on the team in RBI with 30, trailing
Griffin Doersching's 42 and
Andrew Bacon's 33. In league play, Doersching is batting at a .313 clip with 24 RBI, while Bacon has driven in a team-high 29 runs to go with nine doubles on the league slate. On the mound,
Gunnar Barnard's 5.52 ERA leads the Norse pitching staff.
Joe Martin is not far behind with a 5.56 ERA, a 3-1 record and five saves.
Sam Williams paces the Norse with four wins and has been the team's workhorse with 70.2 innings pitched through 13 starts. Williams has fanned 78 batters while issuing just 31 walks.
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.
A LOOK AT THE FLAMES
UIC sits in a tie with Milwaukee for second in the Horizon League standings as both squads sport a 16-10 record heading into the final weekend, but the Flames hold a 4-1 advantage over the Panthers. UIC is still battling for hosting rights for the 2019 Horizon League Baseball Championship, trailing Wright State's 19-8 mark.
Freshman Ryan Hampe ranks second in Horizon League games with a .411 batting average and is third in hits (39), RBI (29) and doubles (9). Scott Ota is not far off with a .408 batting average, but leads the league with a .854 slugging percentage, 35 runs scored and 12 home runs. The senior has been excelling in the overall season as well, ranking seventh nationally with a .765 slugging percentage and ninth with .41 home runs per game.
The Norse can expect to see Jacob Key, Joey Frederickson and Patrick Martin on the mound this weekend. Key holds a 3.08 ERA in league play and is tied for third in the league with five victories. The right-handed pitcher has struck out 57 batters and walked only 18. Frederickson holds a 3.73 ERA with four victories, striking out 27 batters in 50.2 innings pitched. Martin rounds out the projected starters with a 4.60 ERA and a 2-3 record, allowing just four extra-base hits in 31.1 innings pitched.
When the two teams last met, UIC took all three games of the series in Chicago on April 12-13.
UP NEXT
The Norse await the location of the 2019 Horizon League Baseball Championship, which comes down to the final series of the season. NKU has already locked in the No. 4 or 5 seed and will play Oakland, which has also guaranteed either the No. 4 or 5 seed. That game will be played on Wednesday, May 22, at noon local time.
