Xavier baseball posts 7-5 victory over NKU; Norse golfer Poore wins Horizon League medal

NKyTribune staff

Chris Givin went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Xavier University baseball team posted a 7-5 win over Northern Kentucky University on Tuesday in Highland Heights.

Nate Soria added four hits and scored twice for Xavier, which improved to 14-26 with the non-conference victory. The Musketeers collected 14 hits and received five shutout innings from the bullpen to defeat the Norse (10-28).

NKU took a 3-1 lead in the third inning after Griffin Doersching launched a two-run homer. Xavier, however, tied the game in the fourth when Givin delivered a two-run single.

With NKU holding a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning, Xavier plated three runs to gain a 7-5 advantage. Givin’s two-run triple highlighted the outburst and gave the Musketeers a 6-5 advantage. Allbry Major followed with an RBI double to drive in Givin and extend the Xavier lead to 7-5.

Three Xavier pitchers — Grey Harmon, Matt Kent and Evan Miller — combined for five innings of shutout relief, striking out three and allowing just two hits.

Nolan Rattai went 3-for-4 and scored twice to led the NKU offense. Andrew Bacon added two hits for the Norse, who have lost four straight games.

NKU travels to Oakland this weekend for a Horizon League series. The first game is Friday at 3 p.m.

NKU’S POORE WINS HORIZON LEAGUE MEDAL: NKU men’s golfer Jacob Poore cruised to the Horizon League individual championship on Tuesday with a three-day total of 212 at Howey-In-The-Hills, Florida. The Norse posted a fifth-place finish in the team standings with a three-day score of 915 (+63).

Poore, a graduate of Ryle High School, was dominant on the back nine, shooting 3-under par over the course of the three rounds. His 12 birdies were three more than any other player in the field. Poore’s three-day scores were 69-71-72 at the par-71 El Campeon course.

It marked the first career victory for Poore, topping his second-place finish at the 2017 Wright State Invitational. As a result of winning the Horizon League medal, Poore qualified as an individual for the NCAA regionals.

Cleveland State won the team title with a three-day total of 889 (+37). Oakland took second place with a score of 907 (+55).

5. Northern Kentucky – 304-306-305 915
1. Jacob Poore – 69-71-72-212
t18. Jackson Frame– 79-77-76-232
25. Logan Gamm – 80-76-80-236
26. Ty Debonis– 78-82-77-237
t34. Joseph Clark – 78-82-87-247