HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky Baseball (0-13, 0-0 HL) takes a short drive North to face Dayton (3-7, 0-0 A10) in a three-game series this weekend.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY at DAYTON
Friday, March 6 – Dayton, Ohio – 3:00 p.m. – Live Stats
Saturday, March 7 – Dayton, Ohio – 1:00 p.m. – Live Stats
Sunday, March 8 – Dayton, Ohio – 1:00 p.m. – Live Stats
SERIES HISTORY
NKU currently leads the series 12-8, but Dayton is the most recent winner after a 10-3 win on March 29, 2017.
LAST TIME OUT
The Norse fell to Xavier in a run-fest on Wednesday, 24-15. The Norse had six home runs in the contest with two apiece coming from Andrew Bacon and Noah Fisher. Bacon's first homer in the contest was also his 100th career hit as a Norse. Griffin Doersching had his first home run of the season and Jackson Haas also had one leave the park to cap off an outstanding 4-for-5 day.
SCOUTING DAYTON
The Flyers are currently on a six-game skid after winning three of their first four games this season. Despite the recent struggles, Dayton still has many players making contact and getting on base. Jared Howell leads the team with a .297 average and a .395 on-base percentage, while Benjamin Blackwell is not far behind with a .295 average and a .340 on-base percentage.
Lefty Hunter Wolfe (1-1, 3.31 ERA) will have the Friday start for Dayton. His last showing was a 4.1 inning effort at Florida A&M that yielded five earned runs off of five hits and a trio of walks. Ben Olson, another southpaw, will get the starter's nod on Saturday (0-1, 5.56 ERA) after a 1.1 inning appearance at Florida A&M, which saw him give up three runs. However, he did have a six-inning, one-hit performance against Memphis earlier this season. Finally, Cole Pletka (1-2, 8.76 ERA) is slated for Sunday after allowing four runs in 3.1 innings in his last start at Florida A&M.
NOTHING TASTES BETTER THAN BACON
Bacon has come alive in what is now a nine-game hitting streak. The junior carries a .314/.357/.529 slash line entering this weekend and has smashed out three home runs in the last four games, one of which was a grand slam against Samford. He currently tops the Horizon League in hits, home runs, RBIs and runs.
MURRAY MONSTER
Jake Murray is off to a strong start in his senior campaign as the Cincinnati native holds a .340/.410/.547 slash line. He's currently tied with Bacon for the Horizon League lead in hits, has raked in 10 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 11 and nine appearances, respectively. Odom leads the Horizon League with five stolen bases and Wagner has driven in a pair of runs in seven hits. 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 .400 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 547-551-1 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.
