SAUGET, Ill. - Jerrod Fraley went 2-for-3 with a home run and three runs batted in Thursday as Northern Kentucky University defeated Saint Joseph’s College, 5-3, in the first round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
Keith Jackson added a double and a pair of RBI for NKU, which built an early 4-0 lead and held on for the win. Justin Mundt went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored as NKU improved to 34-23.
Jackson now has 20 doubles this spring, and he is two shy of Pat Eschan’s NKU single-season record of 22. Fraley’s homer was his fourth of the season.
NKU starter Derrik Moeves lasted 5 2/3 innings and allowed just two hits, but the sophomore right-hander struggled with his control and walked six batters. He left the game with two outs in the sixth inning after hitting Mike Victor to load the bases, and reliever Chad Anderson worked out of the jam when Mike Marshall’s line drive was hauled in by shortstop Matt Wagers.
That allowed Moeves (7-3) to extend his scoreless innings streak to 20 2/3. He has also not allowed an earned run in the past 33 2/3 innings.
Justin Seiter worked 1 1/3 innings to notch his seventh save of the spring. Saint Joseph’s stranded 12 base runners, and a costly error in the third inning led to three unearned runs.
NKU - which won the GLVC Tournament championship in 2002 - will play Quincy University at 7 p.m. Friday in the second round. The Norse are ranked No. 4 in the latest NCAA Division II North Central Region ratings, and the top four teams in that poll will qualify for the NCAA Division II Tournament.
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Jerrod Fraley |