The NKU Baseball squad entered their weekend series with Oakland undefeated in Horizon League play but were coming off a humbling 11-1 defeat at the hands of in-state rival Louisville a few days prior.
In the opening game of the series, the Norse sent Kaden Echeman to the mound and saw the Senior pitch six solid innings, allowing four runs on five hits and a pair of walks. Echeman struck out 7 Oakland batters but was credited with a no decision.
NKU took a 6-4 lead into the ninth highlighted by a Josh Williams going 3-for-4 with a homer that put the Norse up 2-0 early. Logen Devenport chipped in a pair of RBI after Oakland had tied it at three and a Brennan Rowe homer in the ninth gave NKU the lead heading to the bottom of the inning.
The Norse were unable to hold the lead, giving up 4 runs to Oakland in the bottom half of the inning, dropping a 7-6 decision.
Game 2 of the series was one the Norse wanted to forget as they struggled offensively to get anything going from the plate and quickly falling behind 4-0 en route to a 10-0 shutout loss. Connor Linn was tabbed with the loss for NKU giving up 4-runs on 3-hits in 5.0 innings and striking out 6 while walking 3 Grizzly batters. Offensively, the Norse were only able to manage 4 hits on the day, led by Devenport (2-for-4 with a double), Gabe Miranda (1-for-4) and Williams (1-for-4).
The series finale saw NKU completely flip the script on Oakland as the bats came alive in a decisive 13-3 win, allowing the Norse to avoid the sweep and get back to their winning ways.
Senior Aaron Boster took the mound and pitched a gem, going 5.0 innings, giving up 2 earned runs, striking out four while only walking two. Shawn Parnell came on in relief to pitch 3.0 innings while striking out two Oakland batters. Evan Fry came on in the ninth to strike out the side and close it out.
Williams continued his hot streak at the plate going 3-for-5 with 6 RBI on the day – four of those RBI a result of a grand slam.
Miranda went 2-for-6 with a pair of RBI and Tyler Shaneyfelt posted 3-hits and stole three bases, scoring all three times he was on base. Devenport – Mr. Consistency – added 2-hits, 2-walks with 2-runs scored.
From the Desk of Dizzy:
“It was a cold, tough series – fought hard but came up short a couple of games.”
“Even though we didn’t win the series, we had great energy and fight the whole weekend. It was honestly just a tough series. The guys stuck together and salvaged the win and kept the possibility of still winning the 6-game series.”
“Aaron Boster had a big bounce back start, picking up his teammates with a quality start. On the offensive side of things, Josh Williams had a big day on Sunday helping us secure the W.”
Next Up:
NKU returns home for a 4-game homestand as they welcome in Ohio University for a non-conference matchup on Tuesday, March 25th and then return to Horizon League play the weekend of March 28-30.
The Norse currently stand 13-9 overall (4-2 in HL)
