HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – A four-game series with Horizon League-foe Purdue Fort Wayne is on tap for the Northern Kentucky University softball team. This is the first time the teams have met since Feb. 29, 2020, where the Norse were victorious, 6-2.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (7-19 Overall, 6-8 Horizon League)
Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (6-19 Overall, 5-16 Horizon League)
Friday, April 16 – Noon and 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Saturday, April 17 – 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Highland Heights, Ky. | Grein Field (500)
Stats: Live Stats
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Quick Hitters
• NKU sits at 7-19 and 6-12 in #HLSB action after going 0-4 in the series against UIC.
• The Norse have held leads in 15 of their 26 contests this season and have played 11, 1-run
games with a 4-7 mark in them.
• NKU is set to return home to Highland Heights for a four-game series against Purdue Fort Wayne. The all-time series is 20-8 in favor of the Norse, and the last matchup came on Feb. 29, 2020. NKU came out on top, 6-2.
• In Horizon League-only games, NKU holds a 3.07 ERA and are allowing opponents to hit .243, second-lowest in the league.
• Northern Kentucky received 74 votes and were picked to finish third in the #HLSB preseason
poll. This comes after NKU went 9-10 in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and went 22-33
with a 12-11 record in league play, good for a fourth-place league finish, in 2019.
• The Norse have eight triples against their conference foes, averaging 0.31 per game. In total, NKU has nine triples and is averaging 0.36 triples per game, 22nd in the country.
• C/UT Kendyl McKeough is coming off a four-game series against UIC where she went 5-for-11 (.455) with three singles, two homers, one walk, six RBI and two runs scored.
• In the last two series (8 games), McKeough is hitting .550 (11-of-20) with nine RBI, two homers six runs scored and five walks, giving her a .640 OBP during that time.
• Since arriving at NKU, McKeough has started every game and is second on the team with 19 RBI. She is batting .315 and is also second on the team in both homers (5) and RBI (19).
• OF Ava Lawson has 24 hits this year, 14 of which are of the extra-base variety (four doubles, three triples, seven home runs). Lawson has 23 career long balls, fifth all-time at NKU.
• In NKU's last eight games, Lawson is hitting .440 with 10 RBI, eight runs and three homers.
• McKeough and Lawson have combined for 41 of NKU's 76 RBI.
• Freshman OF Ella LeMonier has the highest batting average on the team (min. 10 AB) at .316 and has solidified a spot in right field. She has registered a hit in 17 of her 23 games played, and has 24 hits on the year.
• 2B Josie Frazier has the fourth-most hits for the Norse with 22 and the second-most runs with 11. She is batting .276 and has started in 23-of-24 games played.
• IF/OF Jenna O'Hair has five RBI and four runs to go along with a .364 OBP. She's seventh on the team in hitting with a .255 average (min. 10 AB).
• 3B/C Madi Mulder is also heating up for the Norse, batting .318 in the last eight games and .284 on the season. She has eight RBI and seven runs for the year.
• C Maddie Lacer has earned a regular-spot in the lineup and is fourth on the team with a .292 batting average. She also has eight RBI and six runs scored.
• P Lauryn Hicks fanned 10 batters in 9.0 innings against UIC. She now has 80 K's on the year, including the second-most in league play with 59.
 
Last Time Out
Northern Kentucky improved to 6-8 in the Horizon League with a trio of wins over Cleveland State this past weekend. During the four-game series, the Norse put up a total of 24 runs, half of which came in game two on Saturday where they were victorious, 12-1.
 
Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne
Purdue Fort Wayne sits ninth in the Horizon League, one spot behind Northern Kentucky. The Mastodons are currently on a two-game losing streak after going 1-2 last weekend against IUPUI. Madeline Swart is batting ninth-best in the conference at .343, and has the joint-sixth most doubles with five. Meagan Mullaney is batting .206 and is tied for the second-most home runs in the Horizon League with five. Shaina Eyre has made 14 appearances with 13 starts. She sports a team-best 4.83 ERA for a squad that holds a 6.17 team ERA.