FORT WAYNE, Ind. – For the first time in Horizon League play, the Northern Kentucky baseball program found itself on the wrong side of two heartbreakers as the Norse dropped two highly-contested conference games to Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday.
 
Even with the small setback, the Norse are still in first place in the Horizon League by two games.

THE BASICS – GAME ONE
FINAL: Northern Kentucky – 3, Purdue Fort Wayne – 4 (10 innings)
LOCATION: Mastodon Field – Fort Wayne, Indiana
RECORDS: NKU 19-10 (9-1 HL), PFW 11-18 (5-5 HL)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Tyler Shaneyfelt paced the Norse with a 1-for-3 opener at the plate that included two RBI.
- Liam McFadden-Ackman (1-for-3, one walk) also knocked in a run for NKU.
- Both Treyvin Moss (2-for-5, one steal) and Cleary Simpson (1-for-4) came around to score for the Norse.
- John Odom (one walk) also posted a run scored in the contest.
- Brennan Rowe (1-for-3), Jake Paulick (1-for-4), Mitch Wood (1-for-4) all chipped in a hit for NKU, respectively.
- Clay Brock threw a gem on the mound as he went seven innings with seven strikeouts and just five hits and one earned run allowed.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Purdue Fort Wayne jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the second.
- The two sides would then play five scoreless innings against one another.
- Northern Kentucky broke through with a three-run top of the eighth to take a 3-1 lead. The Norse got RBI from McFadden-Ackman (sacrifice fly) and Shaneyfelt (two-RBI triple).
- The Mastodons responded right back with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to tie things at 3-3.
- The game headed to extras as neither side could push a run across in the ninth.
- After a scoreless inning from Northern Kentucky in the top of the tenth, Purdue Fort Wayne walked it off in the bottom half of the inning to escape with the 4-3 win.
 
 
THE BASICS – GAME TWO
FINAL: Northern Kentucky – 1, Purdue Fort Wayne – 4 (9 innings)
LOCATION: Mastodon Field – Fort Wayne, Indiana
RECORDS: NKU 19-11 (9-2 HL), PFW 12-18 (6-5 HL)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Liam McFadden-Ackman led the Norse attack with a 2-for-3 day at the dish. His second game included a run scored and a walk.
- Tyler Shaneyfelt chipped in a RBI off a 1-for-3 outing that also featured a base on balls.
- Jake Paulick (1-for-4) finished with NKU's other hit in the contest.
- Ben Gerl took the tough luck loss on the mound as he fired a quality start with 6.2 innings of work. He racked up six strikeouts to go with just six hits and three earned runs allowed.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Purdue Fort Wayne dropped runs in the bottom of the fourth, fifth and eighth to take a 3-0 lead into the final frame.
- Northern Kentucky did its best for a comeback in the top of the ninth.
- The Norse got the inning started with back-to-back singles by McFadden-Ackman and Paulick to make things interesting.
- After a fly out, Shaneyfelt struck for NKU with a RBI single to center that scored McFadden-Ackman to make it a 4-1 game.
- Wood then drew a walk to load the bases to bring the go-ahead run to the plate.
- The Mastodons were able to escape once again with a game-ending double play to pull off the 4-1 win.
 

NEXT UP
Northern Kentucky and Purdue Fort Wayne will battle once again in the series finale on Sunday, April 7. First pitch is set for 1 PM ET from Mastodon Field.
 
 
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