YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Northern Kentucky scored five unanswered runs en route to a 5-1 victory over Youngstown State and then fell to the Penguins 2-1 in the second game of Friday's doubleheader at YSU Softball Field.  
 
NKU (17-24, 6-11 Horizon League) faces the Penguins (22-18, 7-5) at 1 p.m. Saturday in the series finale.
 
Game One: NKU 5, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 1
At the Plate

• Jenna O'Hair went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI.
• Sophie Margelot went 1-for-2 with a walk. She hit a 2-RBI double and scored a run.
• Olivia Pastin hit a solo home run. She went 1-for-3 with an RBI and run scored.
• Maddie Lacer went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
• Ella LeMonier and Sydni Barnes each scored a run.

In the Circle

• Lauryn Hicks (3-5) struck out five of the first 12 batters and finished with nine strikeouts. She walked two, gave up five hits and allowed one run.

At a Glance

• Youngstown State took a 1-0 lead on Nikki Saibene's RBI single in the bottom of the first.
• The lead didn't last long. Penguins pitcher Elle Buffenbarger walked Sophie Margelot and Sydni Barnes in back-to-back at-bats in the top of the second. Jenna O'Hair delivered a two-run double to left center for the 2-1 Norse lead.
• Sophie Margelot doubled to left center and plated Ella LeMonier, who'd singled, and Maddie Lacer, who'd bunted, in the top of the fifth. LeMonier and Lacer advanced to third and second base, respectively, on a wild pitch before Margelot's two RBI padded a 4-1 lead. NKU amassed three hits and two runs and left two on base in the inning.
•  Olivia Pastin hit her career-first home run in the top of the sixth to make it 5-1, NKU. 

Game Two: YOUNGSTOWN STATE 2, NKU 1
At the Plate

• Tatum Biddle went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI double.
• Maddie Lacer scored the Norse's lone run by virtue of Biddle's hit.

In the Circle

• Alicia Flores allowed just two hits and no runs in the first four innings. She struck out three and walked two of the 15 batters she faced.
• Madisyn Eads (9-11) took over in the bottom of the fifth. She allowed two runs (one earned) and four hits, struck out two and had an error.

At a Glance

• Kendyl McKeough and Jordan Jenkins had back-to-back hits in the top of the first but were stranded, a theme for both teams through the first several innings. The Penguins advanced runners to second and third in the bottom of the third inning before Alicia Flores struck out the ensuing batter for the third out.
• The Norse loaded the bases in the top of the fourth but the runners advanced no further.
• After a Norse pitching change in the top of the fifth, Youngstown State's Bree Kohler doubled to left center. Hailey Niederkohr singled on a bunt and reached second on a Norse throwing error to first base, which allowed Kohler to score an unearned run. Yazmine Romero drove in Niederkohr and Penguins took a 2-0 lead on back-to-back RBI bunts.
• Tatum Biddle doubled to left center and drove in Maddie Lacer to make it 2-1 in the top of the sixth. The Norse, which left nine on base throughout, came no closer.

 
Next Up
NKU faces Youngstown State at 1 p.m. Saturday in the series finale.