BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team (0-11, 0-0 HL) dropped two games to Samford (9-1, 0-0 Southern) on Saturday by scores of 8-7 and 13-7 at Griffin Field.

GAME 1: Samford 8, Northern Kentucky 7

AT THE PLATE

• Andrew Bacon dominated in the batter's box to start off the afternoon, going 3-for-4, which included a grand slam to get the Norse back into the game.
• Billy Marion also knocked a homer in the game, going 1-for-4 in the contest.
• Collin Luty also drove in a run. He brought one home in a 1-for-3 performance.
• Treyvin Moss (1-for-4), Jake Murray (1-for-4), Griffin Doersching (1-for-4), Sam Hedges (1-for-1) and Jon McGee (1-for-1) also had hits in the game.

ON THE MOUND

• Bryson Lonsbury threw the first 2.2 innings of action for NKU, yielding four runs off of six hits.
• Noah Richardson pitched an inning of scoreless relief.
• Jake Pease was on the mound for a pair of innings, allowing one earned run, two hits and struck out a pair.
• Tyler Keith (L, 0-3) had the last 2.1 innings of action for the Norse. Two runs made it home under his watch, but neither were earned.

KEY MOMENTS

• A pair of extra-base hits helped Samford to a 2-0 lead in the first.
• NKU closed it to a one-run game an inning later. Bacon led the frame off with a single through the left side of the diamond and Luty plated him with a left-field double.
• With one runner on by way of single, Samford drilled a home run to take 4-1 advantage in the third.
• The Bulldogs smacked another one out of the park in the sixth. Another plated with a two-on single to left to extend the advantage to 6-1.
• A monster inning for NKU followed as Marion began it by sending a ball sailing past the left-center wall for his first home run of the year.
• After the bomb by Marion, John Odom reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to third thanks to a pair of wild pitches. After a walk by Murray, Odom scored courtesy of a fielding error that also allowed Doersching to reach base.
• Hedges singled to put on even more pressure by loading the bases. From there, it was all cleanup for Bacon, who drilled one to left field for the first grand slam of the Norse season. NKU was now in the driver's seat with a 7-6 lead.
• Unfortunately for the Norse, Samford put two on after getting hit by a pitch and a fielder's choice that didn't yield an out. A foul-out and a fielding error brought the pair home.
• The Norse had an opportunity to win in the ninth thanks to singles by Doersching and McGee, but the comeback fell short with a couple of strikeouts.

GAME 2: Samford 13, Northern Kentucky 7

AT THE PLATE

• Murray went 2-for-3 in the contest with a pair of walks, driving in a run.
• Bacon was also in the two-hit club, going 2-for-4.
• Doersching and Fisher each drove in a pair of runs in the contest.
• Rounding out NKU's hits were Noah Fisher (1-for-3), Jackson Haas (1-for-4), Hedges (1-for-4) and Marion (1-for-5).

ON THE MOUND

• Nick Noble tossed four innings, allowed three earned runs off of eight hits and delivered three strikeouts. Six total runs went by under his watch.
• Kurt Lange relieved Noble for 1.2 innings, yielding four runs on three hits and a couple walks.
• Tyler Murphy threw for a third inning to get out of the sixth. He allowed a run and three hits.
• Tyler Ollier closed things out with two innings. He gave up a pair of runs off of four hits to go along with two strikeouts.

KEY MOMENTS

• Samford had a quick start to the game with a two-run homer in the first. The Bulldogs scored another three runs before the inning ended to make it a 5-0 lead.
• Noah Fisher walked to start off the next frame and stole second to get into scoring position. Marion drove him home with a right-field single for the first Norse score of the contest.
• Moss walked, while Murray and Bacon hit back-to-back singles to load the bases. Doersching hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring the score to 5-2 Samford.
• The Norse made it three-straight innings with a score thanks in part to a leadoff double by Haas. The Norse freshman advanced to third on a groundout and reached home after a wild pitch.
• Samford fought back with another run in its half of the fourth.
• It was a one-run game at 6-5 after the fifth inning as Murray and Bacon led off with a walk and single, respectively. Both Doersching and Fisher batted sacrifice flies to add another couple of runs to the Norse effort.
• Hedges singled, Jayden Wakeham walked and Moss was hit by a pitch to load the bases in the sixth. A patient Murray filled up the count and walked to bring Hedges home and tie the ball game.
• Samford answered with a blazing five-run inning to take an 11-6 advantage. A frame later, they tacked on another two with a pair of home runs.
• The Norse got their last run of the night in the eighth. Another leadoff walk by Moss was the spark followed by another walk by Bacon. A single up the middle by Fisher drove Moss home.

UP NEXT

• NKU wraps up its four-game series with Samford on Sunday. First pitch is slated for 2:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed to ESPN3.