The Oakland University Golden Grizzlies triumphed over the Northern Kentucky Norse in a three-game series at the Oakland Baseball Field that lasted from Friday, April 19, until Sunday, April 21.
Notably, in the previous series this season between the Norse and the Golden Grizzlies, OU lost all three games. This series win puts the Golden Grizzlies just one game behind the conference-leading Norse and half a game behind the Wright State Raiders in the Horizon League standings.
Game 1: Northern Kentucky 24, Oakland 3
The series’ first game belonged to the Norse from the very first at-bat.
Brandon Nigh led OU in hits in the first game with two while scoring an RBI, and Aidan Orr led the team in RBIs with two. Four other Golden Grizzlies also contributed a hit in Game 1 of the series.
On the mound, the Golden Grizzlies rotated through five different pitchers. Hunter Pidek started for OU and pitched in the game’s first three innings, allowing ten hits and ten runs. Pidek also struck out five NKU batters.
The Norse struck first in the first inning as Cleary Simps, the lead hitter for NKU, homered to start the game. NKU kept the hot streak going and scored an additional run off the bat of Jake Paulick to end the first inning ahead 2-0.
From that point on, it was the Norse’s game to lose. NKU scored at least one run, with nine runs coming in the top of the seventh inning, in all seven innings in the first game of the series.
However, the Golden Grizzlies did manage to put some points on the board. Nigh homered in the second inning, and Orr added a two-run homer in the third.
Due to the run rule, NKU cut the series’ first game short as the Norse won 24-3.
Game 2: Oakland 7, Northern Kentucky 3
Despite the blowout in the first game, the Golden Grizzlies returned with a vengeance in the second game of the series.
Reggie Bussey and Brandon Heidal led all batters in game two, with each player connecting from the batter’s box for two hits. Four Golden Grizzlies, including Bussey, Lucas Day, Sam Griffith and John Lauinger, also tallied an RBI.
Shane McAlinden and Brandon Decker handled things on the hill, as McAlinden notched a career-high in strikeouts with nine on his way to his third win of the season. Decker closed the game for OU and gave up just two hits while striking out four batters in the final three innings.
OU got on the scoreboard first in the second inning. After consecutive hits from Heidal and Day, the Norse walked two batters consecutively, putting the Golden Grizzlies up 1-0.
Following the score, OU stayed hot, and NKU went ice cold. Bussey and Lauinger strung together two more consecutive hits for the Golden Grizzlies, and Norse pitcher Ben Gerl threw a trio of wild pitches, giving the Golden Grizzlies an early 6-0 lead by the end of the second inning.
With the lead in favor of OU, the Norse weren’t ready to go down without a fight. NKU scored two runs in the fourth inning off of a single from Mitch Wood and a groundout from Brennan Rowe, cutting the Golden Grizzly lead down to 6-2.
After three consecutive innings without a score, OU added to their lead in the eighth inning. Following a triple from Heidal, Day grounded out to the Norse’s second baseman to send home Heidal, expanding the Golden Grizzlies lead to 7-2.
The Norse did manage to score a run in the ninth inning but could not overcome the OU lead, as the Golden Grizzlies claimed victory in the second game of the series.
Game 3: Oakland 10, Northern Kentucky 9
The final game of the series was a back-and-forth affair that came down to overtime, but the Golden Grizzlies pushed through the wire until the very end.
At the plate, Nigh led the Golden Grizzlies in hits with three, and Heidal drove in the most runs for OU off of a three-run home run.
Four Golden Grizzlies pitched on the bump, with Decker standing out as the most dominant. Decker struck out four batters in the five innings he pitched while allowing six hits and two runs.
After both teams remained in a stalemate for the first two innings, OU notched their first points of the game in the bottom of the third inning. Following two consecutive walks and two consecutive steals, Lauinger flew out to the right field to give the Golden Grizzlies a 1-0 lead.
Despite this, the Norse answered in the following inning. Paulick was hit by the pitch to start the inning, and NKU fired off three consecutive singles for two runs. By the inning’s conclusion, the Norse led OU 2-1.
In the fifth inning, the Golden Grizzlies loaded the bases with a hit-by-pitch, a single and a walk. As a result, Orr flew out to center field to tie the game at 2-2.
With the game tied, NKU took its lead back in the sixth inning. After loading the bases, the Norse scored a sole run to take the lead back from the Golden Grizzlies, 3-2.
However, in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Golden Grizzlies responded. To start the inning, the Norse walked Day, and on the next at-bat, Carter Hain homered to bring the lead back in favor of OU 4-3.
Following OU’s offensive push, the Norse again answered back. An RBI single off the bat of Logen Devenport tied up the game, and NKU scored three additional runs to make the game 7-4, reclaiming the lead from the Golden Grizzlies.
Nevertheless, the Golden Grizzlies caught fire in the seventh inning, nearly cycling through the entire batting order. Orr and Nigh both notched RBI doubles in the seventh, and Heidal launched a three-run homer, giving the Golden Grizzlies a 9-7 lead.
Although the Golden Grizzlies held the lead, they didn’t score in the final two innings of regulation, and NKU scored a run in the eighth inning and a run in the ninth inning to tie the game 9-9 and send the game to extra innings.
With the game in overtime, the Golden Grizzlies did not wait too long to claim victory. With Trent Rice and Gavin Arseneau on third and first base with just a single out, Lauinger made the walk-off sacrifice fly to bring Rice back home and give OU their first series win over the Norse this season.
On deck, the Golden Grizzlies will take on the Youngstown State Penguins in a three-game series on the road in Niles, Ohio. The series will start on Friday, April 26, and end on Sunday, April 28.