ROCHESTER, Mich. – Oakland's comeback bid fell short on Saturday afternoon as Northern Kentucky used an early offensive explosion to secure an 8-3 victory at the OU Softball Field.

Northern Kentucky jumped out to a commanding lead in the first inning, plating six runs on a series of hits to take a 6-0 lead right out the gate.

Oakland would scratch the scoreboard in the bottom half of the first as a Kam Troyer triple brought a pair of runs across the plate to make the score 6-2. The Norse would respond in the top of the second, tacking on two more runs to take an 8-2 lead.

Oakland's pitching settled in after the rocky start with the entrance of freshman Kenna Bommarito, who pitched six innings of hitless baseball, striking out four batters in one of her top showings of the season.

The Golden Grizzlies had their chances throughout the game, putting runners in scoring position multiple times. They finally broke through again in the sixth, capitalizing on a Norse error with the bases loaded as Troyer used savvy baserunning to score and cut the deficit to 8-3.

Defensively, Oakland cleaned up its early struggles, turning a double play in the middle innings and holding Northern Kentucky scoreless over the final three frames. However, the early deficit proved too much to overcome, as Northern Kentucky's pitching held Oakland to just five hits on the day.

Troyer led the Golden Grizzlies with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate with a pair of RBI, while Turmell also went 2-for-4 and scored a run.

The Golden Grizzlies will look to get back into the win column in their next series, which is also at home, against Green Bay. The three-game series versus the Phoenix will begin with a series opener on Friday, Mar. 28 at 3 p.m.