HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Milwaukee baseball got things going early and led 5-3 midway through the game, only to see Northern Kentucky plate four unearned runs in the fifth inning to turn the game around in eventually claiming a 13-9 victory Saturday at Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
 
The Panthers (7-9, 0-1 Horizon League) jumped out to a quick 5-0 advantage on the Norse (4-10, 1-0 Horizon League), but that was as good as the day would get for Milwaukee. The team lost the lead in the fifth inning as NKU would plate nine unanswered runs to turn the game around on a cold, windy day in Kentucky.
 
UWM had one last rally in the ninth, scoring three times before running out of outs.
 
"It was really a tough day to play, I give their hitters a lot of credit," Milwaukee head coach Scott Doffek said. "We didn't pitch it well enough today and they made us pay. Plus, we had a huge miscue is the middle of the game and we just couldn't overcome it. We have to come out tomorrow and win one pitch at a time."
 
Chris Kelly and Ben Chally paced a 13-hit attack, each finishing 3-for-4. Kelly scored three times and stole a base, while Chally knocked in three.
 
Devin Rybacki was 2-for-5 with three runs scored. Mike Ferri and John Boidanis drove in two. Chad Roberts (4-for-5, 4 runs) and Kyle Colletta (3 hits/5 RBI) paced the Norse.
 
Chally's single to right opened the scoring in the first and the lead was doubled on a single up the middle by Boidanis. In the second, Ferri clutched a two-run double down the left field line and the lead would grow to 5-0 on an RBI-single by Chally.
 
Northern Kentucky got one back in the second and had the makings of a big rally going in the fourth after two doubles and a base hit scored a pair. Ferri came up huge, completing a tough double play by himself to keep the lead at 5-3.
 
In the fifth, Austin Schulfer hit back-to-back batters to get into a jam. A ground out and pop out made it two outs with runners on second and third. UWM had a chance to escape with no damage but an error opened the doors and tied the contest. Roberts followed with a home run to right field to make it 7-5, with all four runs in the frame the unearned variety.
 
NKU tacked on in the sixth and eighth innings. Kody Theobald and Boidanis added ninth-inning RBIs, but it was not enough.
 
Schulfer (3-2) took the loss, allowing nine runs – five earned – in 5.1 innings. He walked one and did not strike out a batter.
 
The teams are back in action tomorrow, concluding the series with a doubleheader set to start at 10 a.m. CST.