HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – With first place in the Horizon League on the line, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies will square off in a three-game set with the Northern Kentucky Norse at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex from Friday-Sunday, April 14-16.

As a side note that may be of interest to those planning to attend, the Saturday game will be "Bark in the Park" day for the Norse, encouraging fans to bring their dogs to the game.

Northern Kentucky is currently atop the conference standings at 8-4 in Horizon League play, while the Golden Grizzlies are tied for second with the Wright State Raiders at 7-5.

In games Golden Grizzly and Norse fan will likely be keeping an eye on, Wright State hosts the Youngstown State Penguins this weekend.

SERIES SETUP

• Who – Oakland (14-18, 7-5 Horizon League) at Northern Kentucky (18-13, 8-4 Horizon League)
• When – Friday at 2 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 12 p.m.
• Where – Highland Heights, Kentucky (Bill Aker Baseball Complex)
• Live Stats – NKUNorse.com
• Twitter - @OaklandBSB & @NKUNorseBSB

SERIES HISTORY

• Overall Record – Northern Kentucky leads, 19-18 (2016-22)
• Record in Highland Heights – Norse lead, 11-10 (2016-22)
• Current Streak – Northern Kentucky W1

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday

• Oakland – Sophomore RHP Hunter Pidek: 7 games (6 starts), 1-1, 4.26 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .258 BAA, 31.2 IP, 32 H, 15 ER, 10 BB, 30 SO
• Northern Kentucky – TBA

Saturday

• Oakland – Senior LHP Travis Densmore: 8 starts, 3-3, 6.10 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, .284 BAA, 38.1 IP, 44 H, 26 ER, 15 BB, 37 SO
• Northern Kentucky – TBA

Sunday

• Oakland - TBA
• Northern Kentucky – TBA

OAKLAND OVERVIEW

• The Golden Grizzlies fell to the Big Ten Conference's (B1G) Michigan State Spartans, 8-3, in East Lansing in their most recent action on Wednesday, but Oakland had won a season-high four-straight games prior to this defeat
• Highlighted by their first sweep of the season over the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons from April 6-8, the Golden Grizzlies have won three of their four Horizon League series in 2023
• Riding a season-long eight-game hit steak and up to .304 on the year, sophomore third baseman Brandon Nigh is hitting .469 (15-32) over this span with two doubles, a pair of home runs and 11 RBI

NORTHERN KENTUCKY OVERVIEW

• Pitching one season for the school in 2003, the Norse are led by second-year head coach Dizzy Peyton and had a five-game win streak snapped Wednesday themselves
• Northern Kentucky has swept two Horizon League series this season, which came over the Milwaukee Panthers and Youngstown State, but dropped their other two sets to Purdue Fort Wayne and Wright State
• One of six Norse players hitting .300, junior left fielder Colton Kucera leads the club at .370 (34-92)
• Fifth-year senior shortstop Noah Fisher, a Madison Heights native, brings a .357 (40-112) batting average into play with nine home runs and 41 RBI, ranking second in the Horizon League in the former and leading the conference in the latter