NKU and UIndy Split Friday Afternoon Doubleheader
NKU Sports Information
Game 1 box score | Game 2 box score
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Bryan Rose drove in three runs and scored three times as Northern Kentucky University coasted to a 13-4 victory against Indianapolis in the opening game of a doubleheader Friday afternoon.
Indianapolis bounced back in the nightcap and snapped NKU’s 12-game winning streak with a 5-2 victory. The Norse are now 40-13 overall, 24-6 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
NKU, which has clinched the GLVC East Division title, is ranked 17th nationally in the NCAA Division II poll. The Norse are No. 3 in the latest Midwest Region poll.
Indianapolis is 32-16 overall, 19-9 in the GLVC.
Rose gave NKU a 2-0 lead in the opener by launching a two-run homer to left-center field in the first inning. Jason Cisper led off with a double, and Rose followed with his fifth homer of the season.
Jeff Bohlen added an RBI double later in the first inning to drive in Evan McDole and extend the NKU advantage to 3-0. Pat Muth picked up a run-scoring single in the second inning to make it 4-0, and NKU cruised behind the pitching of starter Ryan Schmidt. In six innings on the mound, Schmidt scattered two hits and struck out five to improve to 7-1 this season.
NKU sealed the win with a five-run eighth inning. Shannon McCormick’s three-run double keyed the big inning for NKU.
Muth finished with three runs batted in, while Cisper went 3-for-4 and scored twice. McDole and Derek Jones also scored two runs apiece.
In the second game, Indianapolis starter Donovan Drake went the distance and allowed just two runs. The Greyhounds rallied from a 2-1 deficit by scoring four times in the fifth inning. Kaleb Cunningham’s three-run double highlighted the fifth-inning outburst by Indianapolis.
Cisper and Brian Erie each finished with two hits in the nightcap, and Erie scored both NKU runs. Cisper, a senior outfielder, is now batting .468 this season with 26 doubles and 33 stolen bases. The NKU single-season record for batting average is .464, a mark shared by Steve Kellam (1981) and Gary Flowerdew (1987).
NKU concludes the regular season Sunday with a noon doubleheader against Indianapolis. NKU will also recognize its senior baseball players and their families Sunday prior to the first game.