Matt Marksbury improved to 5-2

SOMERS, Wis. - Junior right-hander Matt Marksbury went eight innings and recorded five strikeouts as Northern Kentucky University posted an 8-2 win against Wisconsin-Parkside on Friday in the second game of a doubleheader.

Marksbury, a graduate of Norwood High School, improved to 5-2 this season by scattering 11 hits and allowing two runs. Matt Wagers went 2-for-4 and snapped a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning by hammering his fifth home run of the season over the left-field fence.

NKU added two more runs in the eighth, and the Norse sealed the victory by scoring three times in the ninth. Chris Wilson went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in, and Jim Volpe scored twice.

In the opener, left fielder Andy Heller gunned down NKU’s Josh Moulton at the plate to end the game and preserve a 2-1 Wisconsin-Parkside victory. Moulton was attempting to score from second base on a Volpe single to left, but Heller’s throw was on target and Moulton was tagged out by catcher Eric Krumsee to end the game.

The Rangers scored a pair of runs in the fifth inning to erase a 1-0 deficit. Josh Bruns suffered his first loss (6-1) of the season, going four inning and allowing both Wisconsin-Parkside runs.

NKU is 33-16-1 overall, 31-10-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Norse are ranked 16th nationally in the Division II poll and No. 2 in the NCAA Division II North Central Region ratings.

Wisconsin-Parkside is 21-26 overall, 18-21 in the GLVC.

The two teams will conclude the series at 10 a.m. Saturday with another doubleheader.

GAME 1 BOX SCORE

GAME 2 BOX SCORE