HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – It was a tale of two very different games, but the Northern Kentucky University baseball team (4-10, 2-5 Horizon League) swept Oakland (7-7, 1-2 Horizon League) in both games of a Saturday doubleheader at Bill Aker Baseball Complex. NKU won the seven-inning game-one pitchers' duel, 2-1, and emerged victorious in the 15-12 run-festival that followed.
GAME 1: Northern Kentucky 2, Oakland 1
AT THE PLATE
ON THE MOUND
- Kyle Klingenbeck (W, 1-2) pitched all seven innings of the game, yielding one run on five hits and two walks, while punching out four. The complete game is the first by a Norse athlete since Tyler Miller on April 22, 2016 at Oakland.
KEY MOMENTS
- Oakland took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame with the potential of doing more damage, but two runners were stranded.
- Klingenbeck settled in and retired the next 11 batters in order.
- Both of NKU's runs plated in the bottom of the fifth. Marion was first hit by a pitch and Gick doubled down the left-field line to put runners on second and third. In the following at-bat, Kain blooped to right-center to score the pair.
- Both sides had the bases loaded in their respective halves of the sixth inning, but Klingenbeck and Oakland's starting pitcher dealt with the pressure, keeping the game at 2-1, NKU.
GAME 2: Northern Kentucky 15, Oakland 12
AT THE PLATE
- Michael Hall was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs in the game.
- Billy Marion had his second-career home run in a pinch-hitting performance, giving the Norse a couple of insurance runs.
- Jackson Haas had one at-bat as a pinch hitter, drilling a two-RBI triple.
- Sam Hedges was 2-for-2 in the game and also drove in a run for NKU.
- Andrew Bacon finished 2-for-4 with a walk, representing a Norse run each time he reached base.
- Treyvin Moss was the last of the two-hit club, going 2-for-4 and bringing in one via sacrifice fly.
- Doersching (1-for-2, 3 BB), Gick (1-for-2, RBI), Kain (1-for-2), Odom (1-for-3, RBI) and Thomas (1-for-5, RBI) also had a hit.
ON THE MOUND
- Blaine Walters had the start, going 2.1 innings and allowing seven runs on five hits and four walks.
- Tyson Shaw and Kurt Lange each recorded a couple outs, each allowing a hit and a walk, respectively.
- Tyler Murphy recorded one out, yielding five runs.
- J.T. McGee threw the final five innings, taking 73 pitches to allow just two hits and three walks.
KEY MOMENTS
- Oakland was the first one the board with a run in the first inning.
- Moss and Bacon singled in NKU's half of the inning, and Hall cleaned up with a double to right-center, giving the Norse a 2-1 lead.
- Oakland added six runs in the third and NKU responded with a pair of its own runs in the bottom-half of the inning. Singles by Doersching and Bacon were cleaned up by a Hall single through the right side and a sacrifice fly by Gick, respectively.
- The Golden Grizzlies tacked on five more runs in the fifth.
- The Norse refused to quit despite being down, 12-6. Hall walked and both Gick and Kain singled to load the bases in the bottom of the fifth. Hall and Gick made it home thanks to a wild pitch and Bryce Thomas grounded out to return Kain to the dugout.
- With Oakland leading 12-9, Bacon and Hall both walked to lead off the sixth. Hedges came in for Gick to pinch hit and bunted, which led to a throwing error that plated Bacon.
- Haas took over for Kain on the ensuing at-bat, smacking a triple to right field to tie the game up at 12.
- The Norse finally retook the lead at 13-12 with a sacrifice fly later in the inning, plating a pinch-running Marion.
- Hedges made it on with a single in the eighth and Marion drilled a deep ball to right-center for a couple of insurance runs.
UP NEXT
- The Norse finish out the weekend on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. with the series win over Oakland on the line.
