OXFORD, Ohio – Northern Kentucky University Norse Softball wrapped up tournament play on Sunday afternoon, taking on Michigan State and Miami (OH) again before a long stretch of home games.
Brooke Keltner belted her first collegiate home run, but that was the lone bright spot as NKU was run-ruled twice on the day against some good competition.
THE BASICS (GAME ONE)
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 1, Michigan State– 10 (five innings)
LOCATION: Miami Softball Field - Oxford, Ohio
RECORDS: NKU 7-11 (0-0 HL), MSU 7-9 (0-0 B10)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Brooke Keltner hit her first collegiate home run in the fifth inning, finishing 1-2 in the game.
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Jena Rhoads and
Campbell Beatty also collected hits in the game, with Rhoads going 1-3 and Beatty finishing 1-2.
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Kyndall Ford relieved Flores after three, allowing one run and one hit while striking out a pair in two innings of work.
NORSE NOTES
- Both teams went down in order in the first inning. Michigan State struck in the second inning with an RBI double and a sac fly to take a 2-0 lead.
- The Spartans had a monster third inning, scoring seven runs on five hits. NKU nearly got something going in the third with two outs and the bases loaded, but a Pastin groundout ended the inning.
- A solo homer in the fourth extended the Spartan lead to ten. Keltner's homer in the bottom of the fifth came with two outs, as she tried to help the Norse extend the game, but a swinging strikeout from Pastin gave the Spartans the early victory.
THE BASICS (GAME TWO)
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 0, Miami (OH) – 8 (6 innings)
LOCATION: Miami Softball Field - Oxford, Ohio
RECORDS: NKU 7-12 (0-0 HL), Miami 8-14 (0-0 MAC)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Northern Kentucky had just two hits in the game, as
Stella Wulker went 1-3 with a double and
Marley Gearld finished 1-2.
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Brooklyn Ballis struck out five in five innings of work. She dropped to 4-5 with the loss.
NORSE NOTES
- After a one-two-three inning to start things for NKU,
Stella Wulker led off the second inning with a double. A sacrifice bunt moved her to third, but back-to-back groundouts failed to bring the grad transfer home.
- Miami took the lead in the second with a three-run home run. An RBI single in the third extended their lead to four.
- Both offenses went quiet in both the fourth and fifth innings, but NKU tried to rally in the fifth as they got runners on first and second with a walk and an error. Again, NKU struggled to get the ball out of the infield as they ended the inning on a fielder's choice and line out. Miami's offense scored four in the sixth, hitting a walk-off RBI single to send the Norse home.
NEXT UP
Northern Kentucky University Norse Softball now hosts six straight home games, starting on Tuesday against Valparaiso.
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.
