DAYTON, Ohio – The Northern Kentucky baseball program has etched its name in school history as the Norse won the Horizon League Championship, its first in NKU's NCAA Division I era, and will advance to the NCAA Regionals for the first time after a 23-5 blowout of Youngstown State in the conference championship game on Saturday afternoon.
THE BASICS
FINAL: No. 2 Northern Kentucky – 23, No. 6 Youngstown State – 5 (9 innings)
LOCATION: Nischwitz Stadium – Dayton, Ohio
RECORDS: NKU 35-22 (19-11 HL), YSU 16-44 (9-21 HL)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Treyvin Moss concluded his Most Valuable Tournament Player run in standout fashion with another huge outing. The senior outfielder tied his career-best with a game-high five RBI for the second straight day. Moss went 3-for-5 in this one overall to go with three runs scored and two stolen bases. In NKU's three conference tournament wins, the Fort Wayne, Indiana native went 7-for-13 (.538) with one home run, 12 RBI, five runs, three swipes and three bases on balls. He got on-base at a .625 clip.
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Logen Devenport added a big game of his own with a 2-for-3 effort with four RBI, a double and one run.
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Tyler Shaneyfelt also had a strong tournament as he wrapped it up 2-for-3 performance that featured a triple, three RBI, a game-best four runs scored, two walks and a steal.
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Cleary Simpson (two RBI, two runs, five walks),
Liam McFadden-Ackman (2-for-5, two RBI, three runs, one base on balls, one swipe) and
Brennan Rowe (2-for-4, two RBI, two runs, one walk, one steal) all contributed multiple RBI for NKU.
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Mitch Wood (one RBI, one run scored),
Colton Kucera (1-for-2, one RBI, two runs),
Peyton Lane (two runs, two walks),
John Odom (1-for-3, two runs scored, one steal) and
Zack Minton (1-for-1, one run) rounded out the Norse offensive attack.
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Clay Brock picked up the win, his eighth of the year, with 7.2 innings of work. He posted eight strikeouts to go against just five hits and four earned runs.
- In total, NKU starting pitchers recorded 24.1 innings with 24 punch outs, 19 hits allowed and 11 earned runs. Relief pitchers only had to throw for 2.2 innings of the tournament in a dominating performance by the starters.
- With their strong efforts, Moss (Championship MVP), Brock, Devenport, Shaneyfelt and
Tanner Gillis were named to the All-Tournament Team.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Norse got on the board first in the bottom of the second as Shaneyfelt and Rowe teamed up for a double steal to give NKU an early 1-0 lead.
- Youngstown State jumped ahead with a two-run top of the fourth to make it a 2-1 game.
- It was literally all Norse from that point on as NKU dropped seven in the fourth, six more in the fifth, eight in the seventh and one last run in the eighth to cruise to the 23-5 victory.
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NEXT UP
The Norse will now wait to hear their name called during the NCAA Division I Selection Show, set for Monday, May 27 at noon on ESPN2. The 64 teams who punched their ticket to the national championship will be placed in 16 different, four-team regions in a double-elimination format.
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