HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Milwaukee baseball team blasted six home runs to help lead it to a doubleheader sweep of Northern Kentucky University Friday afternoon at Bill Aker Complex.
 
The Panthers (28-21, 14-9 Horizon League) overcame deficits in both games against the Norse (18-33, 7-21 Horizon League), extending their win streak to five in a row with victories by the final scores of 7-3 in the opener and 5-4 in game two.
 
Milwaukee has now won eight of nine and is 12-2 in its last 14 games. The team also moves into second place, a half-game ahead of UIC (14-10), which dropped a pair of games at Wright State today.
 
Daulton Varsho provided the final scoring in the second game, with his sixth home run of the season in the sixth inning putting UWM ahead to stay at 5-4. Cal Haley did the rest, striking out five batters in his three innings to close it out. He allowed just two base hits in his scoreless effort that resulted in his fourth save of the season.
 
All five runs in the game came via the long ball. Cole Heili ripped a two-out solo home run in the second to open the scoring, his team-high eighth of the season. Nick Unes then stayed hot, sending a 2-1 pitch deep over the fence in right in the fourth inning to make it 3-0.
 
Elijah Goodman (4-0) was cruising at the start. He did not allow a hit in the first three innings but ran into trouble in the fourth. NKU came up with four runs on four hits to grab a 4-3 lead out of nowhere.
 
"Goodman wasn't as sharp today as what he has been, but made some huge pitches in some tough situations," Milwaukee head coach Scott Doffek said. "Again it was the long ball were we got our production and Haley did nice job coming in, putting up three zeros and getting us the 'W'."
 
Goodman kept grinding away and, immediately after Varsho gave him back the lead, got out of a huge jam in the sixth. Following a leadoff single, wild pitch and another hit, NKU had runners on second and third with nobody out.
 
Goodman dug deep and got a groundout to third with the runners unable to advance for out number one. A walk loaded the bases, but then Goodman induced a pop up on the infield and struck out the next batter to leave the bases loaded and keep Milwaukee's slim lead at 5-4.
 
He ended the day allowing the four runs in 6.0 innings, walking three and striking out five. It was still good enough to keep him undefeated on the season at 4-0.
 
Varsho finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI and added his 15^th stolen base of the season. Aaron Buban went 2-for-4 and scored a run and John Boidanis was also 2-for-4.
 
In the opener, Brian Keller (8-3) won for the fifth time in his last six starts, finally having his scoreless streak come to an end at 19 consecutive innings before the Norse found a way to scratch across a pair of runs and hand Milwaukee a 2-0 deficit in the second inning.
 
"Brian fought himself all day, but you look up in the eighth and he has given up just three runs," Doffek said. "He kept us in it. Luke Meeteer was huge with the two home runs and Bo (Boidanis) also. We had a hard time pushing runs across without the long ball, but Tuttle came in and did a nice job to close it out."
 
It stayed that way until the fourth, when UWM took advantage of a two-out error with the bases empty. Boidanis followed, sending a 1-2 pitch to left field to make it a new game at 2-2 with his second round-tripper of the season.
 
The Panthers went ahead in the sixth when Meeteer blasted his first home run of the game. However, the score was tied again an inning later when the Norse put together a two-out rally as a walk and a pair of hits deadlocked it back up at 3-3 on the scoreboard.
 
It was Meeteer again, this time in the eighth, recording the first multi-HR game of his career when he homered to left field to drive in a pair, make it 5-3 and give Keller back the lead.
 
Jake Tuttle did the rest, throwing two scoreless and hitless frames, working around a pair of walks to earn his fourth save of the campaign. Keller finished with 7.0 innings of work, allowing three runs. He scattered 10 hits, walked two and struck out five to inch closer to the season (now at 92, record is 95) and career (228/238) punch-out records.
 
Varsho and Billy Quirke paced the offense, each with a 3-for-5 day with a run scored. Meeteer ended game one 2-for-4 with three runs scored and three driven in. Boidanis had those two RBI as well. Will Haueter sparked the Norse lineup with a 4-for-5 effort.
 
Another big day at the diamond awaits tomorrow, as Milwaukee heads to Dayton, Ohio for a doubleheader at first-place Wright State (20-4 Horizon League). Game one gets underway at 11 a.m. CST.