COLUMBIA, S.C. — Northern Kentucky University Norse baseball wrapped up its opening series of the 2026 season on Saturday afternoon, taking on the Gamecocks after a pair of competitive games on Friday. The Norse took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning before tacking on a pair in the sixth, and held it down in the ninth inning for NKU's first win of the season.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky - 3, South Carolina - 2
LOCATION: Founders Park - Columbia, S.C.
RECORDS: Northern Kentucky: 1-2 (0-0 Horizon) | South Carolina: 2-1 (0-0 Southeastern)
GAME SUMMARY
– Much like game one of the series, it took a while for the scoring to get started, as both starting pitchers got off to a hot start. The Norse allowed a pair of two-out Gamecock hits in the first, but then didn't allow a hit until the fifth.
Josh Williams led off the fourth with a bunt single and came home on an errant throw following a
Jake Paulick base hit. The Norse lead didn't last long, though, as South Carolina drew even on a solo shot to open the fifth.
- Northern Kentucky immediately responded in the sixth, taking the lead on an
Ethan Thomas RBI base hit, and extended it on
Landon Springmeyer's RBI double to make it 3-1.
Cody Little relieved
Elijah Green in the fifth and recorded seven-straight outs across four of those coming via strikeouts. After plunking his first batter in the eighth, Little got all Gamecocks down in order in the eighth, and was pulled after walking his first batter of the ninth. A double put the tying run in scoring position, and an RBI groundout drew South Carolina within one down to their last out.
Gabe Stout walked two batters to load the bases, but it didn't matter as he slammed the door with an emphatic strikeout to give the Norse their first win of the season.
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
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Elijah Green threw 4.1 innings of one-run ball, walking two and allowing three hits while striking out three.
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Cody Little pitched 3.2 innings, allowing one earned run with five Ks while allowing four baserunners. He earned his first win in a Norse uniform, moving to 1-0 on the year.
– Gabe Stount slammed the door and earned the save, getting the game-sealing strikeout.
– In the batter's box, NKU went 7-34 as a team as seven different players recorded a hit.
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Mark Nowak led the way, going 1-3 with a pair of walks.
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Landon Springmeyer was the only Norse to record an extra-base hit, finishing 1-4 with an RBI double.
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Jake Paulick finished 1-3 with a walk and a run.
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Ethan Thomas went 1-4 with an RBI.
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Josh Williams finished 1-4 with a run scored.
UP NEXT
NKU heads to Richmond for a matchup with Eastern Kentucky on February 17.
FOLLOW NKU NORSE BASEBALL
Get in the game and follow Northern Kentucky's NCAA Division I college baseball team through @NKUNorseBSB on X (Twitter), @NKUNorseBSB on Instagram, nkunorsebsb on Facebook and subscribe to the NKU Norse Youtube channel.
