Northern Kentucky University Norse baseball set a new program record on Apr. 24 by scoring 30 runs in a victory over Oakland at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex in Highland Heights, Kentucky. The game ended with a final score of 30-9 after seven innings.
The large margin and high run total marked the most runs Northern Kentucky has scored since moving to Division I, surpassing their previous record of 27 runs set in 2023. The performance also included several individual milestones for Norse players.
Oakland took an early lead with a solo home run, but Northern Kentucky responded by scoring five runs in the first inning, including a solo homer from Mark Nowak. The team then added twelve more runs in the second inning, highlighted by nine hits and three walks. By the end of the second inning, NKU led 17-1. After allowing five Oakland runs in the third, NKU continued its offensive surge with seven more runs that same inning and six additional runs in the fourth.
Josh Williams made history as he became “the first Northern Kentucky player to ever record six hits in a single game,” finishing six-for-seven at bat with six RBI, five runs scored, three doubles (tying another school record), a triple, and a stolen base. Marcus Harrison contributed three hits and five RBI while reaching base safely six times; both Williams and Harrison tied NKU’s single-game record for most runs scored at five each.
Other notable performances included Nowak going five-for-six with two doubles and a home run; Pierce Bauerle collecting three hits as leadoff batter; Ethan Thomas driving in three on two hits; Alex Brazer contributing two hits and two RBI; Hunter Friedberg reaching base four times despite not recording any hits; Logan Wilson earning his second win of the season after striking out four batters over four innings; and Will Franklin closing out the game by allowing just one run across nearly three innings pitched.
Northern Kentucky will continue its series against Oakland at home on Saturday.
