Milwaukee Athletics

DAYTON, Ohio – A nine-run fifth inning propelled the Milwaukee baseball team to a 14-2 win in its opening game of the 2026 Horizon League Baseball Championship over Northern Kentucky on Thursday afternoon.
 
Thirteen batters went up to the plate in the lopsided inning, with Charlie Marion and Joey Spence each recording a pair of RBIs in the frame. Spence led Milwaukee with five RBIs on the afternoon, while Grant Ross had a team-high three hits and scored three runs from the top of the lineup.
 
Aric Ehmke got touched up for a pair of runs early in the game, but threw five scoreless innings to finish his outing, earning his fifth win over his last six starts. Aiden Fishnick was the lone reliever used by the Panthers and retired all six batters that he faced.
 
Northern Kentucky got on the board first as Ethan Thomas singled to score Pierce Bauerle, who led off the game with a base hit.
 
Ross tied the game three pitches into the bottom of the first with a solo home run to right field. The Norse answered back with a run in the second to regain a one-run lead before Ehmke stranded a runner in scoring position.
 
"Once you get to tournament play, the first game the biggest game," said head coach Shaun Wegner. "It's always the most nervous and anxious you're going to feel. I think we saw that a little bit early on, and then once we were able to settle in and really focus on what we do well, you saw the bats come to life."
 
The score held until the bottom of the fifth as the Panther offense exploded for nine runs. Ross doubled and scored on a Marion singled, Bradyn Horn and John Hadley VI drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks before Tate Schmidt drove in a run on a fielder's choice.
 
Spence increased Milwaukee's lead to five with a two-run double before he swapped spaces with Ross, who doubled down the left field line. Marion doubled to score Ross, and later scored as Dylan O'Connell tripled to cap off the inning.
 
The Panthers added on with three runs in the sixth, Horn singled and Christian Holmes walked before Spence homered down the right field line to make it 12 unanswered runs for Milwaukee.
 
"College baseball, more than professional baseball, is all about the energy game and how easily you can get it and how long you can hold onto it," added Wegner. "Joey Spence was terrific for us, not only at the play, but behind the dish. Really good leadership back there."
 
Cade Palkowski reached on a two-out single in the seventh and came in to score on a base hit by Schmidt for the 14th Milwaukee run.
 
Fishnick entered and faced the minimum in the eighth with the help of a double play and retired the side in order in the ninth to lock down the win.
 
"Aiden came in and did exactly what we needed to finish the game off," said Wegner.
 
Thomas led the Norse with three of its seven hits, while he and Alex Brazer drove in the two NKU runs. EJ Miramontes took the loss after allowing five runs over the first four innings, while the next three relievers for Northern Kentucky all yielded runs.
 
Milwaukee will next play on Friday morning at 11:00 a.m. (CT) against an opponent to be determined by the results of the remaining games on Thursday afternoon at Nischwitz Stadium.