 |
By Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information Game 1 box score | Game 2 box score HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – After sloppy weather led to sloppy baseball, Northern Kentucky University pulled out an eighth-inning rally to post a 5-2 win over Lewis and salvage a doubleheader split. The Flyers took a 9-7 decision in the opener. After Lewis jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Dusold responded with a two-run blast over the left-field wall in the bottom of the frame to take the 2-1 advantage. Lewis (16-24, 4-12 GLVC East) reached back to tie the game in the fifth inning, plating Ryan McManaman on a double-play ball to knot the game at 2-all. The Norse (24-18, 14-6 GLVC East) responded in the eighth inning as Jeff Bohlen opened the frame with a single through the left side. Bohlen gave way to pinch runner Max Colaner, who took second on a sacrifice bunt. After Joe Mack popped up in the infield for Out 2, Brian Erie came through in the clutch with a base hit through the right side of the infield to plate Colaner. Erie then stole second base, his first swipe of the season, before being singled home by Jake Morris, capping a 3-for-4 performance. A Jason Cisper double would bring in Morris and give the Norse all the cushion they would need. Jay Hale (2-1) pitched two innings in relief of Ryan Schmidt, who struck out eight batters while allowing two runs on seven hits, to take the win. Matt Winterhalter pitched a scoreless ninth to claim his fifth save of the season. A pair of miscues by the Norse middle infielders in Game 1 allowed the Flyers to plate four runs and take a 6-5 lead. The Flyers would add three more runs in the sixth to stake claim to a four-run lead. NKU showed some life in the seventh, putting together a two-run rally capped by an RBI-single by Jake Morris, who was 2-for-4 on the contest with a pair of runs driven in. However, NKU could not sustain the pressure and a strike out by Jack Ambrose ended the game. Lewis’s Joe Scumachi (5-3) got the complete-game victory, striking out four NKU batters while scattering 11 hits and allowing just one earned run. Jarrett Casey (2-4) gave up six runs, only one of them earned, on just three hits while striking out four Flyers. Ambrose was a bright spot for the NKU offense, going 2-for-5 on the contest with one RBI and a pair of runs scored. Kevin Dusold also drove in two in a 2-for-4 effort. NKU will play a pair of midweek doubleheaders to prepare for their final GLVC East weekend at Kentucky Wesleyan. The Norse travel to Urbana on Tuesday before hosting Kentucky State on Wednesday. |
