CLEVELAND -- With its postseason hopes hanging in the balance, Cleveland State will travel to Northern Kentucky for a three-game Horizon League series beginning on Friday (May 3).
The teams will play a single game on Friday at 4 p.m. and then conclude the series with a doubleheader on Saturday (May 4) beginning at 1 p.m.
Cleveland State, which is 14-32 overall and 7-14 in the Horizon League, enters the final weekend of Horizon League play seeking to secure a spot in the upcoming league tournament. Oakland currently occupies the sixth, and final, spot for the postseason tournament with a 9-14 league record. The Grizzlies have completed their league schedule and the Vikings will need a sweep against the Norse and UIC to win at least one game against Wright State to clinch a postseason berth.
The Vikings remained alive in their pursuit of the postseason by taking two of three games against Wright State last weekend. Cleveland State won the opener of the series 3-2 in eight innings and then produced a 4-2 win in the third game of the set to claim the series win.
Junior Kelly Hysong leads the Vikings with 12 home runs and a .323 batting average. She is hitting .405 in her last 10 games and has five home runs and nine RBIs during that span.
Riley Ries ranks second on the team with a .321 batting average and is also second on the squad with 25 RBIs and 12 doubles. She currently leads the Vikings with a .409 on-base percentage.
Alyssa Rose ranks third on the team with a .259 average, while Mackenzie Tucker is batting .254 with seven RBIs. Tucker is hitting .346 over the past eight games in which she has played.
Lindsay Ward has raised her average to .246 for the season and is batting .345 over the past nine games. She ranks second on the team with three home runs and is fourth on the squad with 12 RBIs.
Hysong and Hanna Griffin continue to lead the Vikings in the circle. Hysong is 8-12 on the year with a 3.78 earned run average, while Griffin is 6-16 overall and has a 4.36 ERA.
Northern Kentucky enters the weekend with a 17-30 overall record and a 10-10 mark in the Horizon League. The Norse have dropped five of their last six games, including a doubleheader to Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday.