-
7
Winner Northern Kentucky NORTHERN 12-14
2
Oakland OAK 6-15
Winner
Northern Kentucky NORTHERN
12-14
7
Final
2
Oakland OAK
6-15
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
Northern Kentucky NORTHERN 0 2 1 1 0 0 3 0 7 11 0
Oakland OAK 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 X 2 9 0

W: Ballis, Brooklyn (5-7) L: Alyssa Balcom (4-8)

6
Winner Northern Kentucky NORTHERN 13-14
0
Oakland OAK 6-16
Winner
Northern Kentucky NORTHERN
13-14
6
Final
0
Oakland OAK
6-16
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Northern Kentucky NORTHERN 0 3 2 0 1 0 0 6 10 1
Oakland OAK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2

W: Flores, Alicia (6-4) L: Kenna Bommarito (2-6)

Game Recap: Softball |

Norse Softball secures its best start to conference play since 2011

ROCHESTER, Mich. – Five games into the 2025 Horizon League softball season, Northern Kentucky University Norse Softball is yet to take a loss in conference play. The perfect 5-0 start to conference play is the first for the Norse Softball program in the Division I era, an excellent achievement for first-year head coach Morgan Gerak and crew. The last time the Norse started 5-0 or better in a conference season was back in 2011, a squad that won its first seven GLVC contests. 

NKU outperformed the Golden Grizzlies on offense and inside the circle in Friday's doubleheader. In game one, Brooklyn Ballis grabbed her fifth win of the season in a complete game, five-strikeout victory. Alicia Flores started in the circle in game two and threw a complete game shutout, striking out six. The Norse offense combined for 13 runs across the two games, with Trinity Robertson and Stella Wulker going deep in game two. 

THE BASICS (GAME ONE)
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 7, Oakland  – 2
LOCATION: Oakland Softball Field - Rochester, Mich. 
RECORDS: NKU 12-14 (4-0 HL), OU 6-15 (1-3 HL)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 
- Four Norse recorded multiple hits on the day as NKU went 11-31 at the plate. 
- Brielle DiMemmo went 2-3 with a triple and a pair of RBI.
- Jena Rhoads went 2-3 with a double, scoring twice, and drawing a walk.
- Emma Ginn batted 2-3 with a double, driving in two runs and scoring one. She also drew a walk.
- Olivia Pastin went 2-4 in game one with a double, driving in one run and scoring once. 
- Brooklyn Ballis went the full seven innings for the victory, improving to 5-7 on the season. She struck out five while allowing one walk, two runs, and nine hits. 

NORSE NOTES
- NKU sparked a two-out rally in the second, as Emma Ginn walked and Marley Gearld singled. Brielle DiMemmo then sent a triple into left field to give the Norse an early lead, one they held on for all game. 
- NKU added another run in the third, as Pastin brought home Rhoads with an RBI double. 
- The Norse scored again in the fourth, as Emma Ginn doubled to lead off the frame. A two-out infield hustle single from Mack Brow brought home the fourth run of the game for the Norse. 
- Ballis's scoreless day held until the fifth, but limited Oakland's damage to just one run in the inning despite loading the bases with no outs. 
- Northern Kentucky sealed the game with three insurance runs in the seventh, as an RBI double from Wulker and a two-RBI single from Ginn brought NKU's lead to six. 

THE BASICS (GAME TWO)
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 6, Oakland – 0
LOCATION: Oakland Softball Field - Rochester, Mich. 
RECORDS: NKU 13-14 (5-0 HL), OU 6-16 (1-4 HL)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Alicia Flores was dominant in the circle again, picking up her third conference victory and sixth of the season. The senior allowed just a pair of hits, no walks, and fanned six batters in another excellent performance. Flores is holding opponents to a .075 batting average and has allowed just three runs in 13 innings of work in conference play. 
- NKU recorded ten hits from eight different batters, including multi-hit games from Trinity Robertson and Stella Wulker. 
- Robertson went 2-4 with a solo home run to lead off the second inning. 
- Wulker batted 2-4 with a solo home run and totaled two RBI and two runs scored. 
- DiMemmo hit another triple in game two, going 1-3. 
 
NORSE NOTES
- Northern Kentucky struck first in the second inning once again, but it was Trinity Robertson making a statement with a solo shot to open the frame in game two. It marked her first home run of the season. 
- After back-to-back strikeouts, NKU rallied again in the frame, as Gearld walked, DiMemmo brought her home with a triple, and Brow increased the Norse lead to three with an RBI single. 
- Alicia Flores pitched her first of four one-two-three innings in the bottom of the second, striking out a pair of Golden Grizzlies. 
- NKU's bats stayed hot in the third, as Rhoads led off the inning with a single. After stealing second base, she was brought home on an RBI single from Wulker. An error in the outfield saw Wulker score and NKU's lead increase to five by the end of the inning, plenty of run support for Flores. 
- Things were quiet until the sixth when Wulker added to her monster day with a solo shot to right-center field. It was Wulker's second home run of the season. 
- Flores closed out the game with nine consecutive outs, and without an error by the Norse defense in the fifth, that streak would have extended to 13 batters. The Norse look to continue their historic start to the season tomorrow. 

NEXT UP
Northern Kentucky University Norse Softball finish up the series with Oakland at 3 PM on Saturday. 

FOLLOW NKU NORSE SOFTBALL 
Get in the game and follow Northern Kentucky's NCAA Division I softball team through @NKUNorseSB on Twitter, @nkusoftball on Instagram, nkunorsesballon Facebook and subscribe to the NKU Norse Youtube channel. 
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