FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Northern Kentucky softball program kept it rolling with a Horizon League sweep over Purdue Fort Wayne that the Norse sealed with a 6-2 win in the opener and a 5-1 dub in the series finale at PFW Softball Field on Saturday afternoon.
 
Northern Kentucky has now won seven consecutive conference contests in a row to go with picking up their second straight Horizon League series sweep. With the stellar weekend, NKU has taken over sole possession of third place in the Horizon at 12-7 in conference play.
 
 
GAME ONE - THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 6, Purdue Fort Wayne – 2 (7 innings)
LOCATION: Warrior Park – Fort Wayne, Indiana
RECORDS: NKU 16-27 (11-7 HL), PFW 16-26 (8-8 HL)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The offense broke back out in a big way with four home runs in the opening game victory.
- Megan Lenhart (1-for-3, two RBI, one run scored), Maddie Lacer (1-for-4, one RBI, two runs), Kayla Shymkewich (2-for-3, two RBI, one run) and Tatum Biddle (1-for-3, one RBI, one run) all blasted homers for the Norse. The quartet combined for all of NKU's runs in the contest.
- Ella LeMonier also added a 1-for-3 opener at the dish to go with a stolen base, her 21^st of the season.
- In the circle, Alicia Flores picked up her sixth victory of the year with six innings of work that included just two hits and two runs allowed (both earned). She recorded 12 strikeouts in the win.
- Lauryn Hicks closed things out in the final frame with a scoreless and hitless inning in the bottom of the seventh.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Norse started off the contest with a bang as Lenhart drove a blast over the left field fence to drive in two to make it 2-0 NKU in the top of the first.
- NKU followed it back up with a Biddle solo shot in the top of the second to make it 3-0.
- Shymkewich drove in another run with a single through the left side that scored Lacer to make it a 4-0 lead in the top of the third.
- Lacer sent another NKU solo shot over the left field fence to push the Norse lead to 5-0 in the top of the fifth.
- Shymkewich struck again, this time with another Norse solo shot, in the top of the sixth to push it to a 6-0 contest.
- Purdue Fort Wayne added two runs in the bottom of the sixth, but it was too little, too late as the Norse cruised to the 6-2 win.
 
 
GAME TWO - THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 5, Purdue Fort Wayne – 1 (7 innings)
LOCATION: Warrior Park – Fort Wayne, Indiana
RECORDS: NKU 17-27 (12-7 HL), PFW 16-27 (8-9 HL)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Mackenzie Mitchell had a career day at the plate as the senior went 2-for-3 with her first career home run, two RBIS and a run scored.
- Maddie Lacer also had a career contest with a 3-for-4 outing that included a RBI and two runs scored.
- Jena Rhoads and Sydni Barnes both went 1-for-2 with a RBI. Barnes also added a run scored.
- Ella LeMonier continued her strong day of action with a 3-for-4 second game at the dish.
- Charly Koehler added a run scored in the victory.
- Madisyn Eads collected her fifth win of the season with four shutout innings that included six strikeouts.
- Lauryn Hicks picked up her second save of the year with three innings of work that included just two hits and one run (unearned) along with two punchouts.
  
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Norse got on the board first once again off a DiMemmo RBI double in the top of the second to take a 1-0 lead.
- NKU added another one in the top of the fourth off a solo blast off the bat of Mitchell to make it a 2-0 game.
- Purdue Fort Wayne halved the lead in the bottom of the fifth as the Mastodons pushed a run across to make it a 2-1 contest.
- Mitchell did it again with a RBI double to right center to push NKU's lead back to 3-1 in the top of the sixth.
- The Norse added two more runs in the top of the seventh to push its advantage to 5-1.
- NKU slammed the door in the bottom of the seventh to seal the series sweep.
 
 
NEXT UP 
The Norse take a short break from conference play with a Wednesday showdown at Bellarmine on April 26. First pitch is set for 5 PM ET. NKU then returns to Highland Heights for its highly anticipated conference series finale against Youngstown State. The series will take place on Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6 at Frank Ignatius Grein Field.
 
 
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