Baseball Falls In Game One Slugfest at Northern Kentucky, 14-8
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) baseball team fell to non-conference foe Northern Kentucky, 14–8, at Bill Aker Baseball Complex on Friday afternoon. Jacob Budzik led the Spartans with three hits in the contest.
Noah Chapman got the start on the mound for UNCG, but the Spartan ace was roughed up early as Northern Kentucky opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first. The Norse extended their lead to 3-0 after a solo shot by Mark Nowark. The Blue & Gold got the offense rolling in the top of the third with a Brantley Truitt solo home run, his second of the season, to cut the lead to 3-1. Still in the third frame, Brody Gardner brought home another run to put the score at 3-2. Jake Mueller capped off the inning with two-run shot, his fourth of the season, to put UNCG up 4-3. The Norse responded with three runs of their own in the bottom half to keep the Spartans at a distance, 6-4.
The back-and-forth battle continued as UNCG’s Jacob Dilley walked with the bases loaded for an RBI then Gardner brought home Jake Barbour on a productive groundout to even up the score at six. However, Northern Kentucky retook the advantage with a run in the bottom of the fourth for a 7-6 lead. The Norse continued to apply pressure in the bottom of the sixth as a two-run home run extended the lead to 9-6. The Spartans didn’t go away and in the top of the seventh, Luke Jenkins smacked an RBI double down the right field line then, Barbour drove in Jenkins with the next at-bat to cut the deficit down to one, 9-8. Northern Kentucky put the game away with a five-run bottom of the eighth, capped by a grand slam, as UNCG was unable to rally in the ninth, falling 14-8.
PITCHING RECORDS:
Gannon Wentz: W, 2-2
Gabe Stout: S (3)
Noah Chapman: L, 2-4
NOTES:
Northern Kentucky outhit UNCG, 19-11.
The Norse left 11 runners on base compared to the Spartans’ seven.
Five home runs were hit in the contest.
Gardner and Mueller led the Spartans in RBIs with two apiece.
RECORDS:
UNCG: 14-20, 2-7 SoCon
NKU: 14-18, 6-6 HL
UP NEXT
The Spartans will be back in action Saturday as they continue their series against Northern Kentucky at Bill Aker Baseball Complex. First pitch is slated for 2:00 p.m.
Courtesy of Grayson Chastain
Strategic Communications Coordinator
UNC Greensboro