NEW ORLEANS — Northern Kentucky University Norse baseball finished off the Maestri Classic on Sunday afternoon, taking on Alabama A&M in the Big Easy. The Norse took an early lead, but the Bulldogs tied things up in the seventh. A big eighth inning from NKU lifted the Norse over Alabama A&M for their second win of the weekend. 

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky - 8, Alabama A&M - 5
LOCATION: Maestri Field – New Orleans, La. 
RECORDS: Northern Kentucky: 3-4 (0-0 Horizon) | Alabama A&M: 2-5 (0-0 SWAC)

GAME SUMMARY
– NKU opened the scoring in the second as Jackson Wang singled and brought in a run to give the Norse a 1-0 lead. Northern Kentucky doubled that in the fourth, as a squeeze play from Wang brought home Marcus Harrison. A pair of RBI doubles in the sixth from Pierce Bauerle and Jake Paulick made it 4-0 Norse, all while starter Elijah Green held down the Bulldogs over five scoreless frames. Things turned south for the Norse in the seventh, as they allowed four Alabama A&M runs to tie the game at four. The Norse were gifted four bases in the eighth, as a walk and three consecutive hit-by-pitches gave Northern Kentucky back the lead, followed by a bases-loaded walk to make it 6-4. Marcus Harrison's single gave the Norse a four-run cushion, and NKU held on to win, 8-5. 

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
– Elijah Green got the start on the bump for the Norse, going five innings and allowing just two hits, two walks, and no runs while striking out three. 
– Green was relieved by Tannis Lange, who threw a scoreless sixth. Cody Little was responsible for all four in the seventh, and was relieved by Gabe Stout who picked up the victory with a scoreless frame. Will Franklin pitched a scoreless eighth, but allowed a pair of hits to start the ninth, paving the way for Jared Teke to come in and close the game, earning his second save of the season. 
– Offensively, the Norse tallied eight hits, seven walks, and six HBPs in 32 total at bats, scoring eight runs while striking out 14 times. 
– Marcus Harrison finished 2-5 at the dish with a pair of runs driven, doubling once while crossing home plate on one occasion. 
– Josh Williams reached base in four of five appearances, finishing 2-3 at the plate with an RBI, a run scored, and two HBPs. 
– Jake Paulick also reached base in four of five appearances, finishing 1-2 with a double, a walk, a run, an RBI, and a pair of HBPs. 
– Jackson Wang finished 1-2 with a pair of walks, batting in a pair of runs while scoring once. 
– Pierce Bauerle finished 1-5 with an RBI double and two runs scored. 

UP NEXT
NKU opens up the home portion of its season this week, taking on Morehead State on Tuesday before battling Eastern Illinois this weekend. 

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