Northern Kentucky scored the first five runs and added cushion with a five-run eighth to beat the Youngstown State baseball team 11-5 on Saturday afternoon at Eastwood Field.

Alex Larivee had three of Youngstown State's 13 hits, which is four more than Northern Kentucky's total. YSU pitchers issued nine walks, and the Penguins committed three errors. Tito Montgomery and Will Haueter had a pair of hits to lead Northern Kentucky.

Trey Ganns doubled and scored on Dominic Mercurio's single to put the Norse up 1-0 in the second, and NKU scored three of its four runs in the top of the fourth to go up 5-0.

YSU scored two runs on a wild pitch and an error in the bottom of the fourth to get back within three, and the lead shrank to 5-3 after a Penguins run in the sixth. YSU loaded the bases with nobody out as Andrew Kendrick walked, and Ryan Cordova followed with a single to remove NKU starter Tyler Miller. Pierce Knisley walked Web Charles to load the bases, but the reliever got Shane Willoughby to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play and struck out Jonny Miller to escape with minimal damage.

NKU upped the lead to 6-3 with a two-out run in the seventh, and the Norse scored five runs on just one hit in the eighth to go up 11-3.

YSU's Trey Bridis doubled in Willoughby in the eighth, and Gerrad Rohan singled home Larivee in the ninth for the final score.

Miller allowed two earned runs on five hits in five innings to earn his third win for the Norse. YSU starter Jeremy Quinlan allowed five runs on five hits in 3.2 innings in the loss.

The Penguins and Norse will conclude their three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m.