HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Butler recorded the first two runs of the game at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex, but the Norse responded by scoring eight-straight to take a commanding lead. BU pushed one final run across home plate in the seventh, but a comeback was out of reach giving Northern Kentucky the victory.

Butler recorded 10 hits on the day, one more than the home team, but stranded nine runners on base. Four different BU student-athletes posted a multi-hit game, but the top of the NKU batting order was just too much to overcome. The top four players in the lineup had at least one RBI with Spurlin leading all players with three.

Defensively, Northern Kentucky used four arms to reach the finish line. Ianni got the start and went 3.2 innings before being replaced by Knisley. Bolia tossed a near perfect eighth inning and Harris would come in to finish off Butler in the ninth.

Butler jumped out in front 1-0 on Wednesday afternoon with Jordan Lucio sending a ball into the gap in left centerfield. Chris Marras came all the way around to score from first base on the double. Marras extended the inning with a two-out walk in the previous at-bat. His scored run moved Lucio's RBI total to 10 on the year.

The BU lead would grow to 2-0 in the third after an RBI single from Marras. Michael Hartnagel came up with a one-out double to left center on a 2-2 count and one batter later Marras would find room through the left side of the infield on a full count to bring home the speedy baserunner.

The game went south in the bottom half of the third with NKU posting four runs off four hits. Ledger opened up the scoring with an RBI single to right and game-tying run would come home off a fielder's choice. Spurlin highlighted the inning with an RBI double down the leftfield line and a sac fly from Ganns would give the home team the 4-2 edge.

NKU would tack on two more runs in the fourth with a solo shot from Heady at the start of the inning and an RBI double to left from Ganns. The sixth inning featured another long ball as Spurlin went yard to left centerfield. The two-run shot gave Northern Kentucky an 8-2 advantage.

The Bulldogs would get back-to-back singles in the seventh to start the inning and Bartolone would come home to score during Drew Small's at-bat, but the rally would stop there giving the Norse their eighth win of the year.

Bobby Napoleon would take the loss on the mound for Butler moving his overall record to 0-2. Six other arms were used in the midweek matchup.

The team will look to regroup before the weekend when they head to Indiana State to face the Sycamores. Games one and two of the three-game series will be on the road while game three will flip and be played at Bulldog Park.