-
6
Morehead St. MOREHEAD 3-5
21
Winner Northern Ky. NKU 4-4
Morehead St. MOREHEAD
3-5
6
Final
21
Northern Ky. NKU
4-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Morehead St. MOREHEAD 0 0 4 1 1 0 0 6 6 2
Northern Ky. NKU 5 3 0 4 4 5 X 21 15 1

W: Castaneda, MJ (1-0) L: E. Davis (0-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Williams homers thrice, Brazer drives in seven in emphatic home opener victory

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — Northern Kentucky University Norse baseball played its first home game of the 2026 season on Wednesday afternoon, taking on Morehead State at Friendship Field. The Norse jumped out to a massive early lead and kept pouring it on, scoring three or more runs in all but one inning as NKU took home a 21-6 victory. 

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky - 21, Morehead State - 6
LOCATION: Bill Aker Baseball Complex - Highland Heights, Ky.
RECORDS: Northern Kentucky: 4-4 (0-0 Horizon) | Morehead State: 3-5 (0-0 OVC)

GAME SUMMARY
– NKU opened the scoring in the first, as Landon Springmeyer brought home a pair of runs with a single, followed by Alex Brazer's bases-clearing double later in the frame that gave the Norse a five-run advantage. Back-to-back homers from Jake Paulick and Josh Williams in the second made it an 8-0 Norse lead, before Morehead started to close the game with five unanswered. Williams responded with another homer, followed by a two-run shot from Brazer as Northern Kentucky gained a seven-run advantage at 12-5. Morehead got one back in the fifth, but the Norse went on a barrage in the fifth and sixth, as Williams got his third homer of the day and Northern Kentucky put up 21 total runs. 

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN 
– MJ Castaneda got the start on the mound and threw 2.2 innings, allowing four runs, but none earned. He tallied a pair of strikeouts, allowing one hit. 
– Tannis Lange allowed one earned run while striking out three in 1.1 innings of work. Will Franklin threw one inning and struck out a pair while allowing a run. Shawn Parnell threw a 1-2-3 sixth inning, while Gannon Wentz closed it out with a scoreless seventh. 
– Offensively, the Norse tallied 15 hits, nine walks, four HBPs, and six strikeouts in 31 at-bats. The Norse left just five runners stranded in the game.
– Amongst a multitude of fantastic offensive performances, it was Josh Williams who stood among the rest, going 3-4 at the plate with a trio of home runs, five runs scored, six batted in, and a walk.
– Alex Brazer batted in seven runs while batting 3-5 with a double and a homer, scoring once. 
– Jake Paulick went 2-4 with a pair of dingers, walking twice while scoring four times and batting in three runs. 
– Marcus Harrison finished 2-2 at the dish with a double, two walks, three RBI, and three runs scored. 
– Landon Springmeyer went 2-2, batting in two runs while scoring three times and drawing a walk. 
– Pierce Bauerle finished 2-3 with a pair of singles and a walk, scoring three runs. 

UP NEXT
NKU continues play at Friendship Field on Friday, battling Eastern Illinois for a weekend series.  

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.
 
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