HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky baseball (0-16, 0-0 HL) welcomes Eastern Kentucky to Highland Heights on Wednesday afternoon for the first of three games between the two teams this season. The Colonels come back to Highland Heights again on March 31 and NKU will make a trip to Richmond on April 28.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY VS. EASTERN KENTUCKY
Wednesday, March 11 – Bill Aker Baseball Complex – 3:00 p.m. – Live Stats
SERIES HISTORY
EKU currently leads the series, 18-13-1. The last time the two teams met, the Colonels won 11-8 at a neutral site in Lexington, Kentucky.
LAST TIME OUT
NKU is still searching for its first win after Dayton swept the Norse in a three-game series this past weekend by scores of 4-3, 13-4 and 14-0. NKU's best performance came in game one, where the Norse had the tying run on third base in the ninth inning. Kyle Service closed out the final five innings of the game for his best performance of the young season, allowing just one run off of five hits.
SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY
EKU is off to a hot start to the 2020 season with an 11-2 record and has swept its last two series. The Colonels also own a road win over SEC opponent LSU. Batting is what the Colonel's have hung their hat on in the early portion of the season, as the squad average is at an incredible .319. AJ Lewis leads the team with a video-game-like slash line of .489/.571/.915 and 21 RBIs on the year. Daniel Harris IV is also batting at a scorching .435 rate.
Louis Davenport III (2-0, 4.76 ERA) will get the start on Wednesday for Eastern Kentucky. He's tossed for 11.2 innings thus far and has 15 Ks on the year. Opponents are batting just .244 against him.
NOTHING TASTES BETTER THAN BACON
Bacon has come alive in what is now a nine-game hitting streak. The junior carries a .306/.353/.484 slash line entering this weekend and has smashed out three home runs in the last seven games, one of which was a grand slam against Samford. He currently tops the Horizon League in home runs and RBIs.
MURRAY MONSTER
Jake Murray is off to a strong start in his senior campaign as the Cincinnati native holds a .333/.392/.500 slash line. He's currently leading Horizon League lead in hits, has represented 11 runs and has two homers.
HOME-RUN KING
NKU returns the reigning College Home Run Derby Champion for the 2020 season. Doersching, a junior, took the 10th annual prize in Omaha, Nebraska, last June after clubbing 20 home runs to Tyler Keenan's (Ole Miss) 15 in the final round. In the 2019 season, Doersching smacked 13 out of the park, had a .503 slugging percentage and drove in 44 runs. He is just one home run from being second on the all-time Norse leaderboard.
ROOKIES GETTING IT DONE
A trio of NKU freshmen have had solid starts to the 2020 year. John Odom and Tyler Wagner have impressed in their 13 and 11 appearances, respectively. Odom is third in the Horizon League with five stolen bases and Wagner has driven in a pair of runs in seven hits. Jackson Haas made his debut in a series against Troy and became the only Norse in the Division I era to hit a homer in his debut. It was also just the second time in the Division I era where a Norse sent one out of the park in the season opener, the first coming from Brad Clement against Lamar in 2013. He has since drilled another homer and is currently batting at a .320 rate.
NEW YEAR, NEW ME
The 2020 edition of the Norse boasts a crowd of familiar faces as all but one position player returns from last year's lineup. The only batter missing from the Norse is the now-graduated Will Haueter, who is the all-time doubles leader for NKU. Bacon is the top returning hitter for NKU with a .269/379/461 slash line from 2019. The Norse also benefit from the return of slugger Doersching.
In total, 15 players joined the Norse over the offseason, ranging from freshmen to junior college standouts: Michael Bohlen, Jared Flueck, Haas, Tyler Keith, Kyle Klingenbeck, Kurt Lange, Lonsbury, Jon (JT) McGee, Treyvin Moss, Luke Murray, Nick Noble, Odom, Jake Pease, Wagner and Blaine Walters.
A NEW CAST ON THE MOUND
With departures-galore from the bullpen, Northern Kentucky plucked a bunch of JUCO arms to reload its pitching staff. RHP Bryson Lonsbury joins the Norse from Dyersburg State Community College after going 4-0 last season thanks to a 2.17 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 45.2 innings pitched. Also joining him from Dyersburg State is Nick Noble, a sophomore righty, who went 3-0 last year and posted an impressive 33 strikeouts in 27 innings thrown.
JT McGee will be a southpaw for NKU. Coming from Lincoln Trail College, the junior sported a 2.60 ERA last season and had 31 strikeout in 27.2 innings. Jared Flueck will also be crucial for the Norse after an 8-1, 3.26 ERA campaign at Olney Central College last year.
Although the Norse bring in a lot of new arms, they are not without returners. Kyle Service and Proctor Mercer remains with the Norse after starting 15 and 13 games, respectively, last year.
TWO DECADES AND COUNTING
Head Coach Todd Asalon is in his 20th season at NKU, owning a 547-554-1 record with the Norse. He guided the Norse through their Division I transition, which began in the 2013 season, and helped NKU post its winningest Division I season in 2017 with a 25-33 record. Prior to the Division I era, he led NKU to the NCAA Division II tournament in eight-consecutive seasons.
Joining Asalon on his staff are his assistants and former Norse Dizzy Peyton (13th season) and Pat Hyde (fifth season). Accompanying them is Matthew James, who is in his first season as assistant coach after spending a year at Xavier.
