In the midst of a rainy Friday afternoon, NKU found themselves deadlocked with Oakland, tied 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning. After a Braydon Rogers walk and Nolan Sparks single, Brennan Rowe stepped up to the dish, ready to break the tie and gain momentum in the series.
Rowe stepped up for his fourth at bat, looking to be the hero. After a tough at-bat, Rowe finally got his pitch and hit a fly ball to deep center field that allowed Rogers to tag up and score the decisive run in their 5-4 victory over the Golden Grizzlies.
The Norse currently sit at 24-17 overall, with a 12-8 record in conference play, firmly in second place in the Horizon League standings. Entering their series against Oakland, NKU were winners of five straight and looked to capitalize against a struggling Golden Grizzlies team. NKU hadn’t lost a series since early April and looked to keep that streak alive.
In game one, both teams got off to hot starts with Brandon Nigh hitting a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the first to give Oakland an early 2-0 lead. The Norse responded with Tyler Shaneyfelt working a walk, eventually coming around and stealing home.
Both teams went back and forth, leading to a tie game in the eighth inning, where Lowe having already stepped up for the Norse in the fourth inning with an RBI single, hit a sacrifice fly that gave the Norse a 5-4 lead entering the ninth inning. Evan Fry got the save after a clean inning, securing the opening game of the series.
In game two, the bats came alive as runs were scored in every inning but one. Logen Devenport recorded a multi-hit day along with Brennan Rowe, who continued to show up in the clutch for NKU, recording two RBIs on the day.
The Norse starting pitcher, Aaron Boster pitched six innings, giving up four runs on five hits and was unable to shut the Golden Grizzlies down after NKU put up four runs of their own. The backend of their bullpen was dominant in the first game of the series, however were proven ineffective as both Fry and Massie were unable to get an out in the ninth inning, giving up three runs, on three hits, all while walking three.
Bobby Bartlett took the mound and cleaned up the inning, but the damage had been done. A five-spot in the ninth propelled Oakland to tie the series at one apiece and gave game three added pressure.
In game three, Oakland scored five runs in the second and third innings, putting the Norse in a five-run hole early in the game. However, NKU one-upped the Golden Grizzlies, putting up seven runs, powered by a Nolan Sparks home run and doubles by Josh Williams and Jake Paulick to retake momentum and the lead, 7-5.
After collapsing in game two of the series, the NKU bullpen was determined to maintain their lead and secure a series win. However, Oakland had other ideas as relievers Jake Johnson, Logan Wilson, Shawn Parnell and Noah Sackenheim gave up a combined 11 runs on eight hits.
The Norse were unable to find answers as the Golden Grizzlies looked seemingly unstoppable, nearly batting around twice. After an RBI groundout by Gabe Miranda in the eighth inning and a Paulick home run and Shaneyfelt RBI single in the ninth, NKU fell to Oakland 16-10, losing their first series in just under a month.
NKU will take on the number six ranked Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville this Tuesday, April 29th at 6 p.m. in an NCAA tournament rematch.