LOUISVILLE – The Northern Kentucky softball program continued its winning ways as Lauryn Hicks spun a one-hit shutout in the circle to seal the 1-0 victory in a mid-week, non-conference contest against in-state foe Bellarmine at Knights Field on Wednesday evening.
 
With the win, NKU has won four straight games overall to go with victories in nine of its last 11 contests. The Norse have also won seven straight Horizon League games.
 
Northern Kentucky will enter the final week of the regular season in second place in the Horizon League at 12-7 in conference play. NKU will host Youngstown State in one of the biggest home series finales in recent memory on May 5-6 in Highland Heights.
 
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 1, Bellarmine – 0 (7 innings)
LOCATION: Knights Field – Louisville, Kentucky
RECORDS: NKU 18-27 (12-7 HL), BU 4-39 (1-17 ASUN)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Senior standout Lauryn Hicks was near perfect in the circle once again this season as she posted a complete game, one-hit shutout. She also recorded 13 strikeouts in the victory over the Knights. Over her last eight appearances, the Kokomo, Indiana native has racked up 57 punchouts over 38.1 innings pitched. Hicks is now ranked second in the Horizon in ERA (2.36), third in opponent batting average (.239) and sixth in strikeouts (95).
- Ella LeMonier scored the only run in the contest off a 1-for-4 day at the dish.
- Kayla Shymkewich (2-for-3), Megan Lenhart (1-for-2, walk), Brielle DiMemmo (1-for-3) and Tatum Biddle (1-for-3) also posted hits for NKU.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
­- NKU got on the board first as LeMonier led the game off with a triple and then came around to score off a wild pitch during the next Norse at-bat to give Northern Kentucky the early 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
- The two sides would remain scoreless for the rest of the contest as NKU sealed the 1-0 victory.
 
NEXT UP 
The Norse will get some well-deserved rest before returning with the highly anticipated home series finale against Youngstown State on Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6 at Frank Ignatius Grein Field. Friday will feature a single game at 4 PM ET while Saturday will consist of a doubleheader with first pitch set for 1 PM. Admission is free to all three contests.
 
 
FOLLOW NKU NORSE SOFTBALL 
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