HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Matt Wagers hit a game-tying, two-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning, and he later scored the winning run on a passed ball as Northern Kentucky University rallied for a 5-4 victory against the University of Southern Indiana in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex at Friendship Field.
Southern Indiana held a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, but NKU’s Conor McGeehan cracked a lead-off home run to cut the deficit to 4-2. Alex Frank followed with a drive off the wall in right field for a double, and Craig Craddock drew a walk to put two runners on base with no outs.
Lewis Jones attempted to sacrifice the runners, but he struck out after fouling off a two-strike pitch while bunting. Southern Indiana starter Mike Watson fell behind 2-0 to Wagers and was replaced by reliever Matt Goans, who surrendered a drive into the left-center field gap that plated Frank and Craddock to tie the score at 4-4.
A wild pitch sent Wagers to third, and he scored the winning run when a Goans pitch glanced off Southern Indiana catcher Mike Kottmeyer’s mitt and bounced to the backstop.
Justin Seiter picked up the win in relief for NKU, which has won 16 of its past 21 games. Wagers, a freshman shortstop from Hamilton, Ohio, finished 2-for-3 with two RBI.
In the nightcap, NKU wrapped up the four-game series sweep with a 5-2 victory. Jones lined a two-run single in the second inning to give the Norse a 2-1 lead, and NKU starter Matt Marksbury scattered six hits in seven innings to get the win.
Chad Anderson pitched two scoreless innings to notch his first save of the season for NKU, which improved to 33-23 overall, 26-14 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
NKU will be the No. 2 seed in this week’s GLVC Tournament at Sauget, Ill., which begins on Thursday. The top six teams in the standings qualify for the GLVC Tournament.
The Norse will face fifth-seeded Saint Joseph’s College (24-26) at 1 p.m. Thursday in the first round at GMC Stadium.
NKU claimed the No. 2 seed in the GLVC Tournament when the University of Missouri-St. Louis (23-13 GLVC) split a doubleheader at Saint Joseph’s on Sunday.
NKU is fourth in the latest NCAA Division II North Central Region ratings. The top four teams in that poll will qualify for the NCAA Division II Tournament in May.
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Matt Wagers |