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By Chad Hensley, NKU Sports Information RENSSELAER, Ind. - Jake Shaffer's two-run home run over the right-center wall at Gil Hodges Field in the top of the ninth inning gave Northern Kentucky University a 6-5 victory over Saint Joseph's College in the first game of a key Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader. NKU dropped Game 2, 4-2, but the Norse (31-20, 19-9 GLVC) are now headed to the GLVC tournament at GSC Ballpark in Sauget, Ill., after a one-year hiatus. The weekend is important for both teams as NKU was vying for a spot in the GLVC tournament and SJC (40-12, 23-6 GLVC) is trying to lock up the regular-season GLVC East Division crown. Shaffer's home run, his second of the game, came after the junior outfielder from Athol, Mass., had fouled off sacrifice-bunt attempts with Jeff Bohlen at first base. Bohlen had singled up the middle to start the inning. Matt Winterhalter (3-2) shut the door on the Pumas in the bottom of the ninth to pick up his third win of the season. Windy conditions hampered all thoughts of a pitcher's dual between the reigning GLVC Pitcher of the Week, Dave Middendorf of NKU, and one of the best pitchers in the GLVC, Chase Sonen for SJC. Six homers were hit in Game 1, three for each team. NKU was the first to score as Shaffer sent a Sonen pitch over the right-center wall for a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. Bohlen, who had reached on a fielder's choice, scored on the play. SJC closed the gap to 2-1 on a Thomas Zurliene wind-aided home run to right center, his first of the season. Both teams then traded runs in the fourth inning. Bohlen, a sophomore from Chicago Heights, Ill., drilled his second round-tripper of the season to give the Norse a short-lived two-run lead. The Pumas
then played station-to-station ball to score
a run in the bottom half of their inning. A single
was followed by a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to second
and another single eventually plated the Saint Joseph's
took the lead in the next inning with the help of two home runs.
The first was a one-out solo-shot that tied the game off the bat
of Matt Reimer - the reigning GLVC Player of the Week. The second Shaffer closed the Puma lead to 5-4 with a two-out single through the right side of the infield to drive in Bohlen second base. The score stayed the same until Shaffer's ninth-inning heroics off relief pitcher Clay Tingley (3-2). Shaffer was 3-for-5 in Game 1, including two home runs, scored two runs, and drove in five of the six runs for NKU. Game 2 saw Norse starting pitcher Ryan Schmidt get off to a rough start as the lefty gave up two runs in the top of the first without allowing a hit. Mike Staehle reached safely leading off the bottom of the first for the Pumas when Shaffer couldn't field the ball cleanly in center field. Following a groundout and two walks, Staehle scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Murray. Then Schmidt plunked Scott Sieder to load the bases and Josh Zenawick to plate Matt Wille. Schmidt (6-2)
settled down to retired 10 of the next 12 batters he faced, but
saw himself back in trouble again in the bottom of the fifth. After
a single and a double with one out, Schmidt intentionally walked The plan backfired as Murray stepped to the plate and lined a 1-1 pitch up the middle to score one run to extend the lead to 3-0. Sieder tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly. The Norse finally got the ball rolling in the top of the sixth as Dusold drilled a home run well over the center-field fence with Evan McDole on base. The long-ball was Dusold's team-leading sixth of the season. Earlier in the inning, McDole looked like he hit into what should have been a double-play but the throw from second was dropped by the Puma first baseman. NKU then had another scoring opportunity in the top of the seventh and final inning when SJC starter Blaine Cravens (8-1) walked Shaffer and McDole with two outs. Cravens then gave way for Tingley, who got Dusold to fly out to left-field to end the game and atone for the bad outing he had in the first game. The save was Tingley's 10th on the season. Both teams will lace the cleats up once again tomorrow to close out the regular season. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT. Jon Asalon will call all the action for both games and can be heard at www.nkunorse.com. |
