The Northerner | Ed. 65 Issue 6 by thenortherner.com

GRIFFIN DOERSCHING A conversation with NKU baseball’s national Home Run Derby champion page 6

Norse fall to Wright State Raiders page 7

Edition 65, Issue 06 Wednesday, March 4, 2020

thenortherner.com @northernermedia

YOUR SGA CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT, VP:

Estes and Dichtl

Archer and Wilson

Goodwin and Derks

“Protect, passion, provide”

“Inclusivity, unity and safety”

“Transparency in action”

• Restructuring SGA

• NKU as top choice, rather than a safe choice

• Addressing diversity

• Inclusive dining on campus • Additional town halls with topics chosen by student body

• Campus solutions will be student-input driven

• Passing resolutions not ‘for the sake of numbers’

• Broadcast success and accountability

• A more commuterfriendly campus

See more on pages 4 and 5 PHOTOS BY BILLY KEENEY AND RACHEL SMITH/ILLUSTRATION BY BILLY KEENEY

02 Happenings

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

NORTHERNER STAFF

WWW.THENORTHERNER.COM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Natalie Hamren [hamrenn1@mymail.nku.edu] MANAGING EDITOR Josh Kelly [kellyjoshual17@gmail.com] NEWS EDITOR Billy Keeney [keeneyw1@mymail.nku.edu] ASST. NEWS EDITOR Rachel Smith [rachelsmithnku@gmail.com] ASST. NEWS EDITOR Noelle Horn [hornn3@mymail.nku.edu] ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Kane Mitten [mittenm1@mymail.nku.edu] ASST. ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Alyssa Weber [alyssamweber22@gmail.com] ASST. ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Corinne Byrne [corinnefaith217@gmail.com] SPORTS EDITOR Sierra Newton [sflnewton@gmail.com] COPY EDITOR Kyle Wade [kwade1371@gmail.com] PHOTO EDITOR Colin Johnson [johnsonphotography6626@gmail.com] VIDEO EDITOR Abby Behrens [behrensm1@mymail.nku.edu] DESIGN EDITOR Billy Keeney [keeneyw1@mymail.nku.edu] ASST. DESIGN EDITOR Noël Waltz [hailee.waltz@gmail.com] WEB EDITOR Sean Gibson [seanpgib@gmail.com] ADVERTISING Samantha Brown [northerneradvertising@gmail.com] SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM Tareza Chiasson [tarezachia@gmail.com] SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM Chrisy Yarbrough [yarbroughc1@mymail.nku.edu] ADVISOR Michele Day [daymi@nku.edu]

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WHAT TO DO Check out the hottest campus happenings and can’t-miss events in Greater Cincinnati.

5-28 MAR

MAR

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE | CINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COMPANY | $28 - $38 | 7:30 PM Feminist literary hero Jane Austen’s iconic story, “Pride and Prejudice,” comes alive on stage during this Women’s History Month. CSC is performing a new adaptation of the historic show, creating a fresh take on Elizabeth Bennet’s story of social expectations, marriage proposals, crazy sisters and ultimately true love. Day-of student tickets can be bought 30 minutes prior to the show for $14 with a valid student ID. THE BROOK AND THE BLUFF | MADISON LIVE! | $12 | 8 PM The Brook and the Bluff, a Nashville-based coffee shop eclectic band, will be stopping in Covington on their “First Place” tour, named after their first full-length album released in October 2019. “First Place” is a soulful, indie album that perfectly encompasses the aesthetic of spring. Celebrate this band’s milestone and kick off spring break by attending a warm show that is sure to leave you dreaming. CINCINNATI ROLLERGIRLS AND QUEEN CITY RADIO | QUEEN CITY RADIO | FREE | 4 - 8 PM It’s Women’s History Month and the Cincinnati Rollergirls have teamed up with Queen City Radio for a unique celebration. QCR’s Living Room will be turned into a mini skating rink, allowing fans 18+ to skate with CRG; skates and gear will be provided. The event also includes a limited-edition International Women’s Day t-shirt, clearance sale on CRG merch and a silent auction.

What you missed at SGA March 2 Josh Kelly

MANAGING EDITOR

Academic Affairs Chairman Alan Millward and Senator Hannah Miller opened Monday’s meeting reading the changes in their resolution, which had its first reading last week. The resolution now allows students to submit evaluations of their academic advisors, in hopes to improve advising meetings and sessions students have. Director of Norse Advising Frank Robinson was in attendance and spoke on the structure and response that some advisors have had to the resolution. “This is actually a helpful resolution for us,” Robinson said. “One of the challenges that advising offices have on campus is collecting feedback from our students that we can use to make our advisory experience better.” “Our goal, I think, is your goal with this. Hopefully that we want to see a better outcome where all students are getting a really quality, high-level, good experience with advising on campus. That is vital.” The resolution also explained that there could be a possible change to advisors’ compensation. Whether compensation and raise cycles happen is dependent on the university, Robinson said. This change could be either positive or negative. According to Robinson, there is a position in the process of hiring for the Vice Provost of Academic Affairs with a focus on academic advising and the first-year experience. After a vote of unanimous consent, the resolution was accepted by SGA. Alcohol in University Housing A new resolution was presented by Student Rights Chairwoman Brynn Cahal for University Housing to allow residents aged 21 and above to consume and possess beer and wine, while still forbidding liquor. Current policy prohibits all possession of beer, wine and liquor in the residence halls unless allowed by university policy, regardless of age. The resolution would overturn the policy and allow beer and wine in university housing if residents are currently at or above the legal drinking age. Cahal said the resolution currently reads beer and wine exclusively because of Director of Housing David Berland’s recommendation. Cahal said this would limit the amount of binge drinking and unhealthy levels of alcohol consumption, as Miami University, University of Dayton and University of Illinois

Urbana-Champaign have similar policies. The schools report “moderate rates of binge drinking,” according to Cahal. According to the resolution, the university “should examine its alcohol policies as a whole and standardize them to apply equally to every adult on campus who’s over 21 years of age.” “And whereas an alteration of alcohol policy when students are 21 years of age have all their constitutional rights respected, allow safe consumption and promote education and dialogue around alcohol.” The implementation and regulation would rely on University Housing and Student Conduct, Rights and Advocacy to enforce. “If this resolution passes, it doesn’t mean that it’s implemented. It has to go to the president’s cabinet and the executive team for approval and if they say no, then it doesn’t go any further,” Sarah Aikman, director of the student union, said. Cahal said there are already policies in place for students that are under 21 and drink in the residence halls. This would only affect students 21 and older. Arnie Slaughter, assistant vice president of student engagement, said this would affect “less than 20 percent” of university housing students. “Thankfully, our campus is not one of those institutions where we have a high level of binge drinking and/ or alcohol consumption in residence hall,” Slaughter said. Under the current policy, residents are not permitted to appear in a public place while being intoxicated. Justice Lauren Goodwin said the new policy would allow students to enter their residence hall. “I think this is nice because, even if I’m not drinking in the dorm, there’s a place for me to go,” Goodwin said. Alcohol consumption would be restricted to dorm rooms, and barred from social spaces outside rooms where underage minors be, according to Cahal. “We will not allow any student to walk down the hallway with a glass of wine,” Slaughter said.

Student Government Assocation meets at 3:30 p.m. on Monday in SU 104.

Ed 65, Issue 06

Arts & Life 03

What’s coming to streaming in March

Kane Mitten

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR

Feeling lucky this month? If you’re a fan of some of Netflix’s most famous originals returning this month, or of any of FX’s series, you might be. Spring break is coming up, and weather forecasts aren’t looking too great, so it’s time to get out from all the rain and stay inside to spend break catching up on new seasons of old favorites. With a new month comes new additions to streaming services, so read on below to find out what Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO and the Criterion Channel have in store this month when you’re looking for your next television binge or new favorite film.

Westworld Fight Club

Netflix Ozark, Season 3 (3/27) Everyone knows about this one by now, right? This dark crime drama (dark in content and also just straight up dark to the point people had to turn up their TV’s brightness) takes a lot of cues from TV classic “Breaking Bad,” including its casting of a popular comedic figure in a serious main role. Season two launched in 2018 to negative reviews, but early reviews for season three have been much more positive. If you’re somehow hungry for more prestige drama, “Ozark” might be worth your time. Expect to see this one at plenty of awards shows. Castlevania, Season 3 (3/5) This animated adaptation of the classic Dracula-hunting video game wowed fans when it debuted in 2017, and 2018’s second season drew critical acclaim for its bone-chilling visuals, exciting action and surprisingly deep lore that even rivals other similar stories like “Game of Thrones.” The show also boasts a star-studded cast of Hollywood names like Richard Armitage, Lance Reddick and Bill Nighy. Fans of dark fantasy shouldn’t hesitate to jump on this one immediately. There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007 2007 was a fantastic year for movies. “No Country for Old Men,” “The Darjeeling Limited,” and, yes you guessed it, “Ratatouille.” But Paul Thomas Anderson’s follow-up to his 2002 critically acclaimed “Punch-Drunk Love” is one of the best films of the decade, if not the century. “There Will Be Blood” stars Daniel-Day Lewis as ruthless oil prospector Daniel Plainview during the Southern California oil boom of the late 19th and early 20th century. Based on the Upton Sinclair novel “Oil!”, this one

Luther

Ozark

There Will Be Blood

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BILLY KEENEY

is a critique of how capitalism gives rise to monopolistic empires, such as John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. Hulu FX series on Hulu FX has long been known as the last bastion of great TV on network television, with famous dramas like “Fargo,” “The Americans,” “Justified” and “American Horror Story” sweeping awards shows and comedies like “Atlanta” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” drawing tons of adoring fans. For years, though, none of their shows have been easily accessible—until now. On the second, nearly all of FX’s catalog will be available on the service, and new episodes of its shows will be available the day after they air on TV. If you’ve never seen any of FX’s shows, get to it—you’ve really been missing out. Little Fires Everywhere (3/18) Will someone please tell Reese Witherspoon she doesn’t have to keep starring in roles where she plays a tortured mother in a picture-perfect family with dark secrets? (“Big Little Lies” season 1 was perfect, though, so no complaints here.) Hulu’s latest original series is based off Celeste Ng’s popular 2017 novel, and also stars Kerry Washington—best known as Olivia Pope in Scandal—as the woman who upends the lives of Witherspoon’s family.

Good Will Hunting, Gus Van Sant, 1997 This 1997 Best Picture nominee stars Matt Damon as janitor Will Hunting and Ben Affleck as his best friend. Hunting, an unrecognized genius, begins studying mathematics with a distinguished professor (Robin Williams). Williams won Best Supporting Actor and Damon and Affleck won Best Original Screenplay for this heartwarming drama. It was also listed at #53 in The Hollywood Reporter’s list of “Hollywood’s 100 Favorite Films.” Look, we’ve all heard of this one by now—it’s a perfect movie to rewatch at any time, and anyone who hasn’t yet seen this gem will be delighted. Amazon Prime Video Making the Cut (3/27) Designers will make it work once again in Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum’s new series “Making the Cut,” where they tour the world in search of exciting, new voices in fashion. Think if “Project Runway” went to a different city every couple episodes, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what Amazon’s going for here. In following with Netflix’s recent trend of weekly episodes for reality TV, two episodes will drop every week. Luther, Season 5 (3/23) This much-beloved crime drama starring Idris Elba returned in 2019 after a

four-year hiatus to air its fifth and final season on BBC in 2019. Season 5 sees the return of fan-favorite psychopath Alice Morgan back to stir up trouble and a grisly mystery to tie up loose ends from the series’ past. If you haven’t dug into “Luther” yet, ask yourself this: when else will you be able to watch a TV series with Idris Elba as the star again? HBO Westworld, Season 3 (3/15) It’s finally back. After a two year hiatus, HBO’s robot sci-fi western drama is returning with new episodes—and, judging by the trailer, has upped its budget even further now that the network isn’t pouring all of its cash into “Game of Thrones.” Season 3 seems to be a drastic switch from seasons prior, with the arrival of Aaron Paul playing the new main character and the story now taking place in the human world to focus on the revolution promised at the end of season 2. Fight Club, David Fincher, 1999 If there was ever a competition for a movie poster that ends up on college dorm walls most frequently, “Fight Club” would be the obvious winner. Edward Norton stars in this mind-bending thriller as a man who meets soap salesman Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) and gets drawn into an illegal fight club that spins out of control in more ways than one.

04 News

News 05

Meet the candidates running for student body president, VP

Estes and Dichtl Billy Keeney

Zach Dichtl (left), Katie Estes (right). PHOTO BY BILLY KEENEY

Restructuring SGA According to Estes, she and Dicthl want to restructure SGA by having colleges and organizations on campus send liaisons to SGA’s meetings. Alternatively, Estes said restructuring could also be done through forming committees that either SGA members could sit on to listen to student concerns, which they would then bring back to the SGA body. Estes said NKU’s international students are not currently represented in SGA. She said restructuring SGA would allow international student unions, as well as black student unions, to get involved in SGA. Concerning SGA appointments, Estes said she believes that if someone is not qualified for the job, they shouldn’t be appointed. “I think that it would be for us waiting till we had qualified applicants, whether that be if we have to keep appointing all semester long,” Estes said. “I also think that we need to target our PR into other groups on campus, besides just a few fraternities, sororities or organizations.” Additional town halls Currently, SGA has a town hall every semester themed around a certain topic, such as mental health. However, Estes said she wants to have two town halls every semester, the second one “geared toward what the students want to hear.” “By doing this, I hope that our liaisons can spread it to their groups, along with … teaming up with our secretaries and our senators to go back and talk to their organizations and other organizations,” Estes said. Estes said that for the additional town halls, she would want people to come and pitch ideas to the SGA body.

Rachel Smith

Jacob Wilson (left), Jessica Archer (right). PHOTO BY RACHEL SMITH

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

NEWS EDITOR

SGA senators Katie Estes and Zach Dichtl want to be your student body president and vice president. Estes, entrepreneurship major, and Dichtl, triple major in web and database administration, media informatics and philosophy, aim to bring big changes to SGA through restructuring town halls and addressing food allergies and diets through implementing an inclusive menu for on-campus dining.

Archer and Wilson

“If their idea was they want Norse Commons to be open until till 11 o'clock, they can come and pitch that idea. And then, if a senator or a group of senators wants to pick it up, they can pick it up right then and there,” Estes said. Inclusive dining on campus Currently as a senator, Estes is working on a resolution that addresses food allergies, along with vegan and vegetarian diets. According to Estes, NKU does not follow an FDA compliance that was set in 2004 addressing food allergens. Estes said she is working with Andy Meeks, director of business and auxiliary services, and Celeste Manning, marketing director for NKU dining, to get the university compliant, along with creating a food allergy-friendly line in Norse Commons. According to Estes, addressing food allergy and diet concerns in campus dining options would require restructuring how NKU personnel handle food preparations . Estes gave the examples of switching gloves when moving from fish to bread, making sure bread doesn’t touch food for someone who has Celiac disease and cooking veggie burgers in a different area from where beef burgers are cooked. On qualifications for president According to Dichtl, his work on resolutions, such as one that passed last year that extended Steely Library hours during finals week, along with connections made with NKU administration from sitting on the Master Plan Steering Committee has prepared him to run for vice president. For Estes, she said past leadership experience (she is currently an orientation leader and presidential ambassador), along with having new ideas and not being afraid to back down from a challenge, has prepared her to be the student body president. Estes said she wants to be the person on campus that students can voice their concerns to and that she wants to help ensure NKU is as inclusive as possible to all students. “I want to be president to be an institute of change,” Estes said. “I want to be president to be a voice for students who may not feel like they're being heard.”

Jessica Archer recently announced her bid for SGA president in the upcoming election, with Jacob Wilson as her running mate. Their platforms focus on communication and transparency to combat issues such as enrollment decline, student representation and administration accountability. Archer plans to propose more support of SOTA programs, student-led recruitment and collaboration with campus communities. Archer is a sophomore integrative studies major with focus areas in theatre, organizational leadership and management, and currently serves as SGA’s secretary of public relations. Wilson is a sophomore human resources management major as well as an SGA senator. NKU as a first choice A major point of their platform is to rewrite NKU’s perception as a “safe school”—a university that is considered easy to get accepted into and has an affordable cost—in the region. According to Archer, she remembers bursting into tears the moment she paid her enrollment fee for NKU. She had dreamed of going out-of-state for school to pursue theatre, but her parents pushed her to reconsider for financial reasons. NKU was initially considered the safest option for her, but it didn’t take long into her freshman year to discover that it was actually the best one, Archer said. “I can’t thank [my parents] enough,” she said. “I’m even trying to convince my younger brother to come here now.” Archer believes perception can be changed through a grassroots outreach program. According to Wilson, there are many high schools in this region that do not display NKU as an option. Archer and Wilson said they want to inspire current NKU students to visit their hometown’s high schools to talk about what NKU has done for them and can do for others. Some of Archer and Wilson’s other goals include “splitting the dance and theater to create their own program/ space, preserve the Corbett Theatre, fix the dance studios, and finally, encourage career services to incorporate more art based majors in career fairs,” according to their campaign’s social media account.

Goodwin and Derks

Lauren Goodwin (left), Mia Derks (right).

Noelle Horn

PHOTO BY BILLY KEENEY

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

“Just from my personal experience, I feel very passionate about students in the arts,” Archer said. “It’s about letting them feel validated [on campus]. I’m so proud of them.” Campus solutions will be student-input driven “Student government should work for all students, not just the selected few,” Wilson said. Archer said she plans to attend several meetings across campus, including the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the Honors College and “all organizations that don’t get enough of a voice on campus.” According to Wilson, their administration would also install an open-door policy in the SGA office for those to come by and share their concerns. He and Archer hope to reach not just campus organizations but communities as well, and plan to work closely with the Center of Student Inclusiveness, which provides support and resources for communities such as people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ members, African Americans and Latinos. Archer said almost 25 percent of students on campus identify as LGBTQ+. “We want to listen not just to respond but to act,” Wilson said. New podcast: broadcast success and accountability “I think it’s very easy to put on the president title and feel the need to side with the administration,” Archer said. “But we are siding with students and student input. Our prioritization lies with students.” Archer wants to start a podcast to present “everything happening within the community.” The podcast’s purpose would be to highlight student success as well as broadcast campus concerns. “If we make these concerns public and viral, faculty administration would have no choice but to respond,” Archer said. According to Archer, she hopes her actions will speak louder than words during her run. “It’s very easy to put words in front of students,” Archer said. “But we want to provide actions.”

On Monday, Feb. 24, Student Government Association Justices Lauren Goodwin and Mia Derks announced their candidacy for president and vice president—the only all-female ticket of the election. Goodwin, junior criminal justice major with a pre-law minor, is a residential student from Western Kentucky who works on campus. Derks, sophomore double major in history and international studies, is a commuter student from Northern Kentucky who works off campus. “We have very different NKU lives … we see a lot of different problems, we see a lot of different ideas that come across,” Derks said. Addressing diversity One of the pillars of the Goodwin and Derks campaign is to “expand the concept of diversity within student government and on campus,” according to their website. Goodwin said she plans to address this by recruiting people from organizations on campus. “One of the things we want to recognize is that obviously yes, there is a lack of visible diversity in organizations now and part of that is us going to these organizations and recruiting from them and saying ‘Hey, we want your voice at this table because it’s not representative of the students without it,’” Goodwin said. Derks said she really wants to highlight and validate students’ unique experiences “no matter what that experience is.” “We also want to expand that concept [of diversity] to include everyone’s unique story, regardless of who they are because everyone’s faced hardships,” Derks said. Passing resolutions not ‘for the sake of numbers’ Another pillar of their campaign is enacting past resolutions. While they plan to pass new resolutions, they won’t pass one “for the sake of numbers.” “A big kind of noticeable controversy for anyone who pays attention to SGA is that last year, we passed 15 [or] 16 resolutions; we passed a lot,” Goodwin said. “...There was some that I heard about from people who were on e-board that they were like, ‘I don't really know if this was ready.’” Goodwin gave the specific example of Quynh Nguy-

en’s mental health awareness week resolution, which was passed during the 2018-2019 administration and has yet to be implemented. “It's not just about passing more resolutions. It's about taking what we've already accomplished, what the students have already said they wanted, and making it a reality,” Derks said. Goodwin and Derks also hope to make campus more commuter friendly. Derks, a commuter student herself, said she is already having conversations about how to reach commuter students at the beginning of the year. She said she was lost on campus as a freshman commuter, and hopes all freshmen eventually feel how she currently feels after finding a home in SGA and among NKU’s faculty and staff. Possible challenges Neither Goodwin nor Derks are a part of Greek life, which Goodwin said may impact their outreach as well as their voter results. She said they’ll have to pull votes from outside of that community and rally the whole campus if they are to win. Goodwin recognizes there may be challenges with the topics her campaign hopes to address, such as mental health and diversity. “It's definitely just recognizing and hoping to get everyone else to recognize that we know that we're not going to solve the mental health stigma we're not going to completely fix the diversity problem in SGA,” Goodwin said. “But we are hoping to start to bridge that gap and take steps so that, in the next few years, they can 100 percent be solved.” Derks said she hopes she can leave campus better than she found it, and wants students to see a difference by August 2021. Goodwin said the biggest thing she wants to highlight is the women on campus and their roles as quiet leaders. “I think just the biggest thing we want to highlight is women on this campus have been quietly leading and we want to be a part of them getting loud about their leadership because [women on campus] do play such a large role … I want it to be recognized,” Goodwin said.

@northernermedia

04 News

News 05

Meet the candidates running for student body president, VP

Estes and Dichtl Billy Keeney

Zach Dichtl (left), Katie Estes (right). PHOTO BY BILLY KEENEY

Rachel Smith

Jacob Wilson (left), Jessica Archer (right). PHOTO BY RACHEL SMITH

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

NEWS EDITOR

Archer and Wilson

Goodwin and Derks

Lauren Goodwin (left), Mia Derks (right).

Noelle Horn

PHOTO BY BILLY KEENEY

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

@northernermedia

06 Sports

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

A Conversation with Griffin Doersching: Home Run Derby Champion Matthew Dietz CONTRIBUTOR

PHOTO BY COLIN JOHNSON

As Griffin Doersching, the NKU Norse junior first baseman and Home Run Derby champion, stepped up to the plate for his first-round swings at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, he had just one thought going through his mind. “Wow.” In June of 2019, Doersching was invited to participate in the 2019 College Home Run Derby in Omaha, Nebraska. With his victory, Doersching became not only the first NKU player to win the event in its 10-year history, but also the first representative from the Horizon League to win as well. In the Derby, six participants are given four minutes in the first round to hit as many home runs over the fence as possible. Once two players are eliminated after the first round, the remaining four hitters hit again for four minutes, and the player with the top two total scores from both rounds advance to the final round. Doersching totaled a field-leading 31 home runs in the first two rounds, and his first-round score of 16 was the most by any contestant in a round throughout the first two rounds. It was at the end of the second round, however, when Doersching got the feeling that the trophy was within reach. “At the end of my second round, I was leading in home runs and getting ready to go to the final round, and I was like ‘Alright, let’s win this. Let’s do it,’” Doersching said. In addition to Doersching, a lot of the pressure fell on Assistant Coach Dizzy Peyton, who served as Doersching’s pitcher for the event. Peyton tried to take a simple approach with

his pitching mindset. “It was pretty easy for me. Just throw him good pitches so he can do what he does,” Peyton said. Doersching advanced to the championship round against Tyler Keenan from the University of Mississippi, who finished second in the first two rounds with 25 round-trippers. “I knew [Keenan] had juice, like he can really hit. So, going into my final round, I was like ‘I need to put up a big number,’” Doersching said. After a strong showing through the early part of the event, Doersching struggled to regain that same mojo at the outset of the final round. “For the first two minutes and 20 seconds, I only hit six homers. So, I took my timeout with about 1:40 left,” Doersching said. What happened after that timeout will become legend in NKU baseball history, with a little help from—of all people—one of Doersching’s competitors. “During the timeout, Chris Lanzilli from Wake Forest came up to me and said ‘Hey, take your hat off … it will help,’” Doersching said. Doersching obliged. With just under two minutes remaining, he proceeded to go on a homerun mashing rampage, swatting an unbelievable 14 home runs in such a short time frame. After finishing with 20 home runs in the final round, Doersching watched as his competitor tried to match his total as the event’s final hitter. He was unsuccessful, and Doersching brought the hardware home to NKU with a 20-15 victory. Now eight months removed from

his thrilling victory in Omaha, Doersching has had time to reflect on the special accomplishment and what he can take from the experience moving forward. “It has helped my confidence so much. Being successful there helps me maintain my confidence through all my-bats, because baseball is an up-and-down game, and you are going to have games when you’re 0-4 with four strikeouts, and other games when you go 3-4 with two home runs and a double,” Doersching said. ”It definitely has helped me keep my confidence when I’m not doing well.” Doersching’s win established NKU and the Horizon League as competitors with other major schools. “I think it says a lot about [Doersching] to be able to compete against guys who get publicity all the time, and I think it’s great for the program. But I think more than anything, it’s great for mid-major programs, having the chance to compete against bigger schools, and taking them head on,” Head Baseball Coach Todd Asalon said. Doersching has now joined an exclusive list of previous College Home Run Derby winners, headlined by New York Yankees superstar right fielder Aaron Judge, who won the event while playing at Fresno State in 2012. While nobody would mistake Highland Heights, Kentucky for the bright lights of New York City and the legendary Yankee Stadium, Doersching’s teammates have taken the opportunity to joke about him becoming the second coming of the MLB All-Star.

When talking about his MLB role models, Judge was not a name that immediately came to mind for Doersching. Rather, it was former Milwaukee Brewers first baseman and two-time MLB Home Run Derby winner Prince Fielder. Growing up right outside of Milwaukee, Doersching has many memories of watching Fielder play—including a video of the hulking Fielder hitting an inside-the-park home run, which became one of his favorite videos to watch as a kid. The lone concern that many Major League Baseball and other professional baseball players have about participating in a Home Run Derby is that it can affect their swing in the future, as players may begin to subconsciously think about hitting the home run, leading to more swinging strikes. However, Doersching is not concerned by that narrative. “Honestly, when I catch myself thinking about hitting the ball in the air is when I run into trouble,” Doersching said. ”Now I have tried to get to the point where I am not thinking too much at the plate, and just trying to hit the ball hard. That’s my new goal, is just hitting every ball hard.” Heading into a new season in 2020, the statistics and records have been wiped clean for every team across the country. But Doersching still expects to carry the experience and memories that he made in 2019 through the rest of his life. “It was just the coolest experience of my life. And to be able to do it for a school like NKU, it just means the world to me,” Doersching said.

Ed 65, Issue 06

Sports 07

NKU MEN’S BASKETBALL ends regular season second in the Horizon League, 64-62

The NKU bench reacts after an NKU point against Wright State.

Silas Adheke (0) dives while making a pass.

Matthew Dietz

PHOTOS BY COLIN JOHNSON

REPORTER

The Wright State Raiders men’s basketball team defeated the Northern Kentucky Norse 64-62 on Friday night, writing another chapter in what has become a storied rivalry in the Horizon League. With the victory, Wright State has clinched the regular-season championship in the Horizon League standings and earned the number-one seed in the Horizon League Tournament. For the Norse, redshirt junior guard Jalen Tate led the way with 24 points while also grabbing down nine rebounds and turning the ball over just twice in 34 minutes of action. Senior forward Dantez Walton, in his last game in front of the home crowd at BB&T Arena, was second on the team with 15 points. Throughout the game, the Norse had no answer on the defensive side for Wright State center Loudon Love, who finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds on the evening. Love was particularly effective early in the contest, as the junior contributed 13 of the Raiders’ first 16 points, most of which came from around the basket. Despite the early dominance from Love in the post, the first half remained a closely contested affair, as both teams went on scoring runs that lasted for several minutes each. After a quick 7-2 start from Wright State, NKU answered back with a 6-0 run to take the lead back before the first media timeout. The Raiders would answer back later in the half with a 9-0 run, capped off just before the under 12-minute media timeout.

Wright State entered Friday’s game as the best shooting team in the Horizon League, but the Norse were successful in defending the perimeter against the Raiders, particularly in the first half where Wright State shot just 2-of-9 from 3-point range. The Norse were able to slow down Wright State’s 3-point attack and neutralize key players like Tanner Holden and Bill Wampler, setting the Norse up to trail at halftime 36-29—despite shooting an even worse 2-of-14 from 3-point range. In the second half, the Norse were able to stay composed and began to play more physical with the Raiders, enabling them to climb back into the game on the scoreboard. “It was a hard-fought game. I am really proud of our guys because there were a couple of times when the [deficit] got to seven and nine, and they didn’t let that happen,” NKU head coach Darrin Horn said. Wright State got out to another hot start coming out of the locker room to begin the second half, stretching their lead to 11 points. But an NKU timeout rejuvenated the Norse as they began to claw their way back into the game. For much of the second half, the Wright State lead stayed comfortably in the seven to nine-point range. The Norse were staying in the contest but unable to find a spark to erase the middling deficit. With just under nine minutes remaining, on his Senior Night (along with fellow teammates Tyler Sharpe and Karl

Harris), Walton canned a 3-pointer off an assist from sophomore guard Bryson Langdon, bringing the lead back down to seven and rejuvenating a jam-packed BB&T Arena that had laid dormant for much of the evening. Three straight layups from Tate and Walton brought the Wright State lead to just two points, prompting the crowd of 6,776 fans to erupt into the one of the craziest frenzies of the 2019-20 season at BB&T Arena. “Our crowd was terrific. I can’t thank them enough for being into it, and that kept us in [the game], so I am thankful and appreciate of all our fans,” Horn said. In the final two minutes, with Wright State leading by six points, it came time for the Norse to foul the Raiders and send them to the free-throw line with the hopes of extending the game with each Raider miss. The Norse put an emphasis on trying to send Love to the free-throw line, who missed five key free throws down the stretch. As a result of those missed opportunities—as well as timely baskets on the offensive end from Tate and sophomore wing Trevon Faulkner—the Norse remained competitive until the final second but were unable to close out the victory. As time expired, Sharpe threw up a half-court heave but was unsuccessful. Coach Horn spoke highly of Walton and the rest of the senior class that is on their way out the door—including one of the most accomplished players in Norse history, Sharpe.

“I don’t think you can say enough about what Tyler and Dantez have done for the program. They both essentially helped put Northern Kentucky University basketball on the map and made us relevant, not only in our league, but even nationally,” Horn said. For the players, a loss in the last home game of the season—to a bitter rival no less—is a tough pill to swallow, but the team remains focused on the goal at hand: returning to the NCAA Tournament in March. “We are a completely different team than we were earlier in the season, and we just need to continue to strive, and get better by the day,” Walton said. With the regular season in the Horizon League now concluded, the second-place Norse will now turn their attention to the Horizon League Tournament, where the winner will be granted an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Horizon League Tournament begins March 3, but because of their status as the number-two seeds, NKU will earn an automatic trip to the semi-final round on March 9 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. It is currently unknown who the Norse will take on in the tournament. The semi-final game can be seen on ESPN2 at 9:30 p.m., while the Championship game on March 10 can be watched or streamed on ESPN.

@northernermedia

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Wednesday, March 4, 2020