HEIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Behind a season-high 16 hits, the Milwaukee baseball team scored in six of nine innings in a 19-2 route of Northern Kentucky. The 19 runs marks the most for Milwaukee since scoring 22 on April 13, 2019.
 
"After the way we competed yesterday, it was great to see us come out of the gates like that," head coach Scott Doffek commented. "We stacked quality at bat after quality at bat."
 
The Panthers scored three in the first and broke the game open with seven runs in the third.
 
"It was great to see a few guys who have been struggling to really get the bats going. We know they are all good hitters, it's just been a slow start. Hopefully this is what kickstarts them."
 
Mitchell Buban got the scoring going for Milwaukee, singling in Marcus Cline and after scoring on a wild pitch, Mike Ferri hit a sacrifice fly to plate Jack Kraus to put the Panthers on top 3-0.
 
The Norse responded with runs in both the bottom half of the first and the second, but the Panthers rallied in the third.
 
Milwaukee totaled five hits in the inning including a pair of two-RBI singles from Zach Nogalski and Joe Vyskocil. Cline then doubled in two to make it 10-2 Panthers.
 
Matt McCarty entered the game in the third and handled the Norse, striking out four and allowing just two hits across four innings to pick up the win.
 
"I thought Matt threw the ball great coming out of the pen to shut that game down," Doffek commented.
 
Milwaukee added three more runs in the fourth and fifth combined before Vyskocil and Quinton Morris put an exclamation point on the win, slamming three-run home runs in consecutive innings to Make it 19-2.  
 
AJ Blubaugh and James Severson combined for the last three innings on the hill for the Panthers, striking out three and allowing just one hit.
 
Cline and Nogalski each had three hits on the day including a double while Buban, Morris, and Vyskocil finished with two each.
 
Next weekend, Milwaukee will host Purdue Fort Wayne as the Panthers make their debuts at new home Franklin Field. Game one of the series is set for March 26 with first pitch at 1:00 pm. Live coverage for all four games can be found on MKEPanthers.com.