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By Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information Game 1 box score | Game 2 box score HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Jake Morris tied a school record with five hits in Northern Kentucky University’s 17-4 victory over Lewis in Saturday’s baseball action. Morris scored two runs and drove in three more on an eighth-inning home run, his first of the season. The freshman was one of six NKU batters to claim multi-hit games, with Jack Ambrose, Evan McDole and Kevin Dusold all taking three hits on the day. Shannon McCormick came in with a 2-for-5 day, driving in four runs in the process. Morris is the fourth man to pick up five base hits in a game for the Norse, and the second in as many seasons. Last year, Jake Shaffer went 5-for-5 against Missouri S&T in a 15-3 blowout at Rolla, Mo. A six-run first inning set the tone for the Norse (25-17, 13-5 Great Lakes Valley Conference East), who knocked Lewis starter Charles Gille (0-3) out after just one inning. The Norse would continue to pound out the runs, scoring in the fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth frames. Kevin Jordan (5-1) got the win for NKU in a spot start, throwing six innings of two-hit baseball, fanning six batters. Brandon Slusher and Josh Blaum completed the mop-up duty, with Blaum striking out two of the three batters he faced. Game 2 saw NKU’s offense stall a bit before scoring seven runs in the sixth to post an 8-1 victory. The Flyers (15-23, 3-11 GLVC East) got on the board early on the back of a Michael Fedoruk RBI-single in the second inning. Lewis hurler Chris Bingham (3-3) had a solid pitching effort and made the run stick until the fifth inning, when Jason Cisper was able to single home Morris, who had walked earlier in the frame, to tie the game at 1-all. The Norse then busted the game wide open in the sixth, sending 10 batters to the plate to score seven runs, including a two-run double by Cisper and a two-run single for Ambrose. Dave Middendorf pitched a solid game in a no decision, giving up a run on two hits while striking out eight in 5 1/3 innings of work. Matt Winterhalter (6-2) struck out three batters in 1 2/3 innings for the win. The wins propelled NKU into first place in the GLVC East Division as the regular season winds down. The top three teams in each division will advance to the GLVC Tournament, May 7-10 in Sauget, Ill. NKU and Lewis will conclude their four-game series on Sunday with a 10 a.m. first pitch. |
