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By Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - When the Northern Kentucky University baseball team began the week against UC Clermont, the Norse never thought that their scores would resemble a shuttle launch countdown. Nonetheless, the offensive outpouring continued Saturday against Lewis. In what proved to be head coach Todd Asalon's 400th career coaching victory, the Norse followed games of 18, 17 and 16 runs with a 15-5 victory over the Flyers in Game 1 of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader. The Norse struck first blood in the top of the first with an RBI-double from Jon Back and a sacrifice fly by Larry Pempek to take the early 2-0 lead. After Lewis got one back in the bottom of the first, ending Ryan Schmidt's scoreless-inning streak at 28, NKU responded with three in the third, sparked by a two-run single by Evan McDole, who returned after a 14-game hiatus to post a 3-for-5 game with 4 RBIs. NKU got four more in the fourth after Back's two-run double and another two-run single by McDole. Jack Ambrose got into the mix in the seventh, plating two on a sharp single to center field, while Kevin Dusold added a two-run double in the eighth to his RBI groundout in the fifth. Schmidt (5-0) pitched seven strong innings for the win, scattering seven hits while striking out 10 Flyers. Andy Heston pitched the final two innings in relief, picking up two strikeouts of his own. McDole, Ambrose, Back and Jason Cisper each claimed three hits in a game that saw the Norse pound out 19 base knocks. Game
2 saw the Norse trade up to the big sticks as McDole put
the first dark spot in the scorebook for NKU with a solo home
run
in the second inning, his second of the season, to
answer Lewis's run in the game's opening frame. After Ambrose's
RBI-single in the second to extend his team-best hitting streak
to nine games, Dusold opened the fourth with a monster shot to
left, and followed with another in the fifth to take his In the end, the Norse took a 7-3 victory, their first come-from-behind win of the year, to sweep the doubleheader. Brandon Slusher (3-1) got the start, and the win, giving up nine hits in six innings with three strikeouts. Matt Winterhalter pitched a perfect seventh, striking out one. Northern Kentucky (17-13, 10-3 GLVC) still stands 1 1/2 games back of GLVC East Division leader Saint Joseph's, and 1/2 game behind rival Bellarmine. NKU and Lewis will conclude their four-game series tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT and can be heard online at nkunorse.com. |
