MILWAUKEE (Interstat) — Joey Spence drove in five runs with a double and a home run as the Milwaukee Panthers routed the Northern Kentucky Norse 14-2 on Thursday afternoon at Franklin Field.

Spence, the Panthers’ catcher, went 2 for 4 with a home run and five RBIs to lead Milwaukee to its second straight victory. The senior entered the game with three RBIs in each of his previous two games and extended his recent hot streak with a three-run homer in the sixth inning that blew the game open.

Grant Ross added a home run, a double and two RBIs, finishing 3 for 5. Charlie Marion had two hits and two RBIs, and Dylan O’Connell contributed two hits and an RBI.

Aric Ehmke earned the win for Milwaukee, allowing two runs on seven hits over seven innings with four strikeouts. Aiden Fishnick pitched two hitless innings in relief.

Northern Kentucky fell to 24-29 overall and 16-12 in Horizon League play. Milwaukee improved to 23-31 and 15-14.

The game’s decisive moment came in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Milwaukee sent 10 batters to the plate and scored eight runs to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 10-2 lead. Ross led off with a double, and Marion singled him home to tie the score. O’Connell doubled, and after a walk, Marion scored on a walk to Horn for the go-ahead run. Hadley walked to force in another run, and Schmidt added an RBI on a fielder’s choice. Spence then doubled to left field, driving in two more runs for a 7-2 edge. Ross doubled to bring home Spence, and Marion doubled to score Ross. O’Connell tripled to plate Marion, capping the outburst.

Spence struck again in the sixth, launching a three-run homer down the right-field line that scored Horn and Holmes, making it 13-2. Milwaukee added one more run in the seventh on an RBI single by Schmidt.

Northern Kentucky had taken a 2-0 lead in the first inning when P. Bauerle singled and scored on Ethan Thomas’ RBI single. The Norse made it 2-1 in the second when Springmeyer singled, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a single by Brazer. Thomas finished 3 for 4 with an RBI for Northern Kentucky.

Milwaukee starter Aric Ehmke settled in after the early runs, allowing just one more hit over the next five innings. Northern Kentucky’s EJ Miramontes took the loss, surrendering five earned runs on four hits and two walks in four innings.

Will Franklin pitched a scoreless eighth for Northern Kentucky, striking out two.

The win was Milwaukee’s fourth in a row against Northern Kentucky this season, following a series sweep in April when the Panthers outscored the Norse 43-18.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Milwaukee 7, Northern Kentucky 5, while Interstat’s ELO system gave Northern Kentucky a 54.60 percent probability to win.