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| NKU OPENS GLVC TOURNEY WITH 16-2 WIN - May 11, 2006 |
Back collects three
hits, scores three times and drives in three to lead top-seeded
Norse |
SAUGET, Ill. – Jon Back went 3-for-5 and scored three runs as Northern Kentucky University opened the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament with a 16-2 victory over Indianapolis on Thursday at GCS Ballpark. Back, a sophomore second baseman and a graduate of Harrison (Ohio) High School, also drove in three runs as the top-seeded Norse improved to 39-17-1. NKU scored six times in the fourth inning to erase a 1-0 deficit, with the key hit being a two-run single by Back. Indianapolis also committed two errors in the fourth inning, and the defensive miscues led to a pair of unearned runs. NKU used an eight-run outburst in the seventh inning to seal the win. Pinch-hitter Chris Wilson’s three-run double to left-center field highlighted the inning for the Norse, who defeated Indianapolis (33-23) for the fourth time in five meetings this season. Matt Jones, Matt Wagers and Josh Moulton each had two hits for NKU. Wagers scored twice and added two RBI, while Jones drove in two runs. Wagers, a junior right fielder from Hamilton, Ohio, leads NKU with 42 RBI this season. He also ranks No. 2 in the GLVC in that category. Moulton, Jim Volpe, Conor McGeehan, Kory Lonergan and Chris Nann each scored two runs. McGeehan, Back and Kenny Wilson each collected stolen bases for NKU. Junior left-hander Josh Bruns improved to 8-1 this season by going seven innings and allowing just four hits. Bruns also finished with six strikeouts before giving way to reliever Greg Pass, who pitched two scoreless innings after a 45-minute rain delay. NKU is ranked No. 23 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll and No. 2 in the NCAA II North Central Region. The Norse will meet the loser of the Rockhurst-Southern Illinois at Edwardsville game at 5 p.m. (EDT) Friday in the double-elimination event. NKU is looking to win the GLVC Tournament for the third time in the past five years. The Norse also captured the title in 2002 and ’04. NKU needs just one victory to reach the 40-win plateau for the first time since 1989. |
