NKU Baseball Seeks First Win of the Season this Weekend

The Northern Kentucky baseball team will be looking to earn its first victory of the year this weekend, as the Norse travel south face to East Tennessee State in a three-game series.

The series begins 3 p.m. today in Johnson City, Tennessee. The two teams will also meet 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Buccaneers are 1-2 after splitting a rain-shortened series with Bowling Green and then losing to Virginia Tech on Tuesday.

Last weekend the Norse were swept in their four-game series with Troy University. Troy hit .293 against the Norse pitching staff and scored 22 runs during the series, while the Norse were only able to muster 6 runs and a .163 average at the plate.

Freshman catcher Will Haueter was most of the offense against Troy. He batted .400 and hit two doubles and scored a run. Meanwhile, sophomore first baseman Trey Ganns started off slow only recording one hit over the series. He did draw four walks which led to two runs for Ganns and the Norse.  

Justin Watts will start the first game of the series on Friday, after giving up four runs and three walks in 4 innings of work in his first start of the season. Pat Kelley will start Saturday, after only allowing two runs and five hits in 5.1 innings of work against Troy. He will be followed by Jordan Menfee, who pitched 5 innings and gave up four runs on five hits in his first career collegiate start.

The NKU pitchers will have to work around ETSU senior Trey York, who hit .355 last year with 55 RBIs and a .611 slugging percentage. This year he is already hitting .462 with two doubles, two RBIs and two doubles.  

This will be the final away series before the Norse come home to face Western Illinois.