HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — In a rare morning matchup on Saturday, NKU finished the day 1-0 with a victory over Purdue Fort Wayne at Friendship Field. With the win, NKU clinched a series victory and set up an opportunity for a sweep on Sunday.
Once again, the Norse got a phenomenal effort from their starting pitcher, with Saturday's star being lefty Conner Linn.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky - 5, PFW - 1
LOCATION: Friendship Field (Highland Heights, Kentucky)
RECORDS: Northern Kentucky: 11-6 (2-0 Horizon) | Purdue Fort Wayne: 1-16 (0-2 Horizon)
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN - PITCHING
- Conner Linn dazzled on the mound for the Norse, throwing 7.2 innings of one run ball on only 82 pitches. Linn retired the first seven batters he faced, and got some great help from his defense, as the Norse finished the day without an error while turning a pair of double plays.
- Linn allowed just one run on seven hits with no walks and a pair of strikeouts.
- Taking over for Linn in the eighth was Aaron Massie, who threw 1.1 perfect innings on his way to his third save of the season.
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN - BATTING
- In the batter's box, Jake Paulick led the way for the Norse, finishing 2-3 with a double and a home run. His sixth inning blast was his fourth of the year, this one a two-run shot to left.
- Gabe Miranda finished 1-3 with a walk and a run scored.
- Nolan Sparks provided an RBI.
- Jake Altman had an efficient day, going 2-4 with an RBI single.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- NKU got on the board first, as Nolan Sparks reached on a fielder's choice while Jake Paulick raced home to beat the throw from first.
- An error by PFW allowed a second run to score in the inning to put NKU on top 2-0.
- Jake Paulick doubled the lead with a two-run blast in the sixth, and Jake Altman followed up with an RBI single later in the inning to give NKU a 5-0 advantage. Linn and Massie locked down the Mastodons the rest of the way to clinch the win.
UP NEXT
- NKU goes for its second sweep of the season on Sunday, with first pitch set for 1 PM.
FOLLOW NKU NORSE BASEBALL
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