Friday, April 28
Highland Heights, Ky.
2 PM
Purdue Fort Wayne
at
Northern Kentucky
'Dons Face off Against the Norse
4/27/2023 11:01:00 AM | Baseball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Horizon League slate rolls on this weekend for the Mastodon baseball team. This week's stop is in Highland Heights, Kentucky to face the Northern Kentucky Norse. Northern Kentucky is in second place in the Horizon League.
Game Day Information
Who: Purdue Fort Wayne (10-32, 6-12 Horizon) vs. Northern Kentucky (23-16, 12-6 Horizon)
When:
Friday, April 28 | 2 p.m. | Bill Aker Baseball Complex
Saturday, April 29 | 1 p.m. | Bill Aker Baseball Complex
Sunday, April 30 | noon | Bill Aker Baseball Complex
Weather: 66, rain | 69, rain | 64, rain
Live Stats: Link
Series History: Northern Kentucky leads 18-16. The 'Dons took 2-of-3 over the Norse earlier this season.
Probable Pitchers:
Purdue Fort Wayne: RHP Mac Ayres (2-1), TBD, TBD
Northern Kentucky: RHP Clay Brock (4-2), LHP Ben Gerl (4-3), RHP Kaden Echeman (5-1)
Scouting the Norse: Northern Kentucky lost 2-of-3 from the Milwaukee Panthers (April 21-23) last weekend. Colton Kucera is hitting .402 with a 1.028 OPS. Noah Fisher has 10 home runs. Casey Maniglia owns four saves for the Norse. They have a team ERA of 5.58.
Miller is the Strikeout King: Justin Miller owns 215 career strikeouts, passing Jason Horvath (2001-2005) for most career strikeouts. Horvath recorded 210. Miller broke the record against Dayton on Wednesday (April 26). Additionally, Miller is averaging 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings, the best for a career in program history during the Division I era.
Down Goes Sparty: The Mastodons defeated Michigan State on April 19th 3-2. It is the Mastodons' second straight season with a win over a Big 10 opponent. Last season the 'Dons defeated eventual league champion Michigan.
Return of the SAC: Dylan Stewart is tied for the league lead with seven sacrifice bunts.
Put His Name in Ink: Jarrett Bickel has started all 42 games at shortstop.
Grant is Fly: In league play only, Grant Thoroman is tied for second in the Horizon League in sacrifice flies with four.
Back in Black: Braedon Blackford is second in the league with 11 home runs. He is in third in RBIs (42) and fourth in slugging (.573).
Double-Digits: Braedon Blackford's 11 home runs has him tied for fifth in program history for home runs in a season. The all-time single season record is Shaun VanDriessche's 18 in 2010.
Cade Gets on Base: Cade Nelis has a current 23 game on-base streak. It is the longest for a Mastodon since Jackson Boyce reached base in 37 consecutive games in 2017. Nelis owns 27 walks, third best in the league.
HL is BH Time: In league play lay only, Ben Higgins is second in the league slugging (.793), OPS (1.232) and RBIs (22).
Walk This Way...: Jacob Walker has a current 10-game hitting streak. He hit his first home run of the season on Sunday (April 23) vs. Wright State.
Masto-Slams: The 'Dons hit grand slams in back-to-back games against Northern Kentucky. On March 24 Ben Higgins hit a grand slam and then in game one on March 26 Jarrett Bickel hit a game-tying grand slam in the seventh inning of a 9-5 win.
Save X4: Four different Mastodons have recorded a save this season. Brody Fine, Mac Ayres, JD Deany, and Justin Miller own saves for the 'Dons.
Closing Time: Justin Miller owns eight career saves, fourth most in Mastodon history for career saves.
'Dons Dig The Long Ball: 11 different Mastodons have hit a home run this season, it is the most since 2013 when 11 different 'Dons hit a home run. The 2003 season saw 13 Mastodons hit a home run, the most during the Mastodon Division I era.
Multi-verse: 14 different Mastodons have had a multi-hit game this season.
Hey Batter Batter (of the Week): Braedon Blackford hit .429 and slugged 1.357 with four home runs in 14 at bats over four games played in Winston-Salem, N.C. (March 3-5). He also recorded one double, seven RBIs, five runs scored, two walks and 19 total bases to earn the Horizon League Batter of the Week honor.
Hey Batter Batter (of the Week) X2: Ben Higgins was named the Horizon League Batter of the Week on April 4 for his play the prior weekend. His play was highlighted by his thee home run performance at Youngstown State on March 31). Higgins was the first Mastodon to hit three big flys in a game since 2016.
D1Baseball Top 30: Braedon Blackford was named a Top 30 Hitter of the day for his two-run home run game vs. Cornell. He was ranked No. 11. He also earned the No. 12 spot on the list after his five-hit, six-RBI doubleheader against Milwaukee (April 15). JD Deany was selected as a Top 30 pitcher for his five shutout innings vs. Cornell. Ben Higgins was named the No. 3 hitter of the day by DIBaseball.com for his three dinger day against Youngstown State.
Up Next: The 'Dons will host Youngstown State May 5-7 in Horizon League play.
Game Day Information
Who: Purdue Fort Wayne (10-32, 6-12 Horizon) vs. Northern Kentucky (23-16, 12-6 Horizon)
When:
Friday, April 28 | 2 p.m. | Bill Aker Baseball Complex
Saturday, April 29 | 1 p.m. | Bill Aker Baseball Complex
Sunday, April 30 | noon | Bill Aker Baseball Complex
Weather: 66, rain | 69, rain | 64, rain
Live Stats: Link
Series History: Northern Kentucky leads 18-16. The 'Dons took 2-of-3 over the Norse earlier this season.
Probable Pitchers:
Purdue Fort Wayne: RHP Mac Ayres (2-1), TBD, TBD
Northern Kentucky: RHP Clay Brock (4-2), LHP Ben Gerl (4-3), RHP Kaden Echeman (5-1)
Scouting the Norse: Northern Kentucky lost 2-of-3 from the Milwaukee Panthers (April 21-23) last weekend. Colton Kucera is hitting .402 with a 1.028 OPS. Noah Fisher has 10 home runs. Casey Maniglia owns four saves for the Norse. They have a team ERA of 5.58.
Miller is the Strikeout King: Justin Miller owns 215 career strikeouts, passing Jason Horvath (2001-2005) for most career strikeouts. Horvath recorded 210. Miller broke the record against Dayton on Wednesday (April 26). Additionally, Miller is averaging 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings, the best for a career in program history during the Division I era.
Down Goes Sparty: The Mastodons defeated Michigan State on April 19th 3-2. It is the Mastodons' second straight season with a win over a Big 10 opponent. Last season the 'Dons defeated eventual league champion Michigan.
Return of the SAC: Dylan Stewart is tied for the league lead with seven sacrifice bunts.
Put His Name in Ink: Jarrett Bickel has started all 42 games at shortstop.
Grant is Fly: In league play only, Grant Thoroman is tied for second in the Horizon League in sacrifice flies with four.
Back in Black: Braedon Blackford is second in the league with 11 home runs. He is in third in RBIs (42) and fourth in slugging (.573).
Double-Digits: Braedon Blackford's 11 home runs has him tied for fifth in program history for home runs in a season. The all-time single season record is Shaun VanDriessche's 18 in 2010.
Cade Gets on Base: Cade Nelis has a current 23 game on-base streak. It is the longest for a Mastodon since Jackson Boyce reached base in 37 consecutive games in 2017. Nelis owns 27 walks, third best in the league.
HL is BH Time: In league play lay only, Ben Higgins is second in the league slugging (.793), OPS (1.232) and RBIs (22).
Walk This Way...: Jacob Walker has a current 10-game hitting streak. He hit his first home run of the season on Sunday (April 23) vs. Wright State.
Masto-Slams: The 'Dons hit grand slams in back-to-back games against Northern Kentucky. On March 24 Ben Higgins hit a grand slam and then in game one on March 26 Jarrett Bickel hit a game-tying grand slam in the seventh inning of a 9-5 win.
Save X4: Four different Mastodons have recorded a save this season. Brody Fine, Mac Ayres, JD Deany, and Justin Miller own saves for the 'Dons.
Closing Time: Justin Miller owns eight career saves, fourth most in Mastodon history for career saves.
'Dons Dig The Long Ball: 11 different Mastodons have hit a home run this season, it is the most since 2013 when 11 different 'Dons hit a home run. The 2003 season saw 13 Mastodons hit a home run, the most during the Mastodon Division I era.
Multi-verse: 14 different Mastodons have had a multi-hit game this season.
Hey Batter Batter (of the Week): Braedon Blackford hit .429 and slugged 1.357 with four home runs in 14 at bats over four games played in Winston-Salem, N.C. (March 3-5). He also recorded one double, seven RBIs, five runs scored, two walks and 19 total bases to earn the Horizon League Batter of the Week honor.
Hey Batter Batter (of the Week) X2: Ben Higgins was named the Horizon League Batter of the Week on April 4 for his play the prior weekend. His play was highlighted by his thee home run performance at Youngstown State on March 31). Higgins was the first Mastodon to hit three big flys in a game since 2016.
D1Baseball Top 30: Braedon Blackford was named a Top 30 Hitter of the day for his two-run home run game vs. Cornell. He was ranked No. 11. He also earned the No. 12 spot on the list after his five-hit, six-RBI doubleheader against Milwaukee (April 15). JD Deany was selected as a Top 30 pitcher for his five shutout innings vs. Cornell. Ben Higgins was named the No. 3 hitter of the day by DIBaseball.com for his three dinger day against Youngstown State.
Up Next: The 'Dons will host Youngstown State May 5-7 in Horizon League play.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Players Mentioned
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INF/OF
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