Westfield, Ind. – After trailing 4-0 in the fourth inning, the Purdue Northwest softball team fought back, but came up short in a 6-4 loss to University of Indianapolis in its season opener Saturday afternoon at Grant Park in Westfield, Ind. The Pride were also scheduled to play Rockhurst University (Mo.) following the UIndy match-up, but the game was cancelled due to snow.
Seniors Samme Miller (North Salem, Ind./Tri-West) and Kyleigh Payne (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bishop McNamara) as well as junior Kalyn Learnard (Fairmount, Ill./Catlin) all finished with a hit and a run scored for PNW Saturday. Freshman Courtney Blackwell (Whiting, Ind./Whiting) suffered the loss (0-1) in the circle for the Pride. She threw all seven innings and allowed 10 hits, six runs (five earned) and no walks with three strikeouts.
The Greyhounds got their first two runs in the top of the third inning off a pair of RBI singles. UIndy pushed its lead to 4-0 in the top of the fourth with two more runs highlighted by a RBI triple. Purdue Northwest answered in the bottom of the fourth inning taking advantage of a pair of errors by the Greyhounds to score Miller and freshman Alexis Madrigal (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point).
Another RBI single by UIndy in the top of the fifth extended the lead to 5-2, but a one-out triple by Payne in the bottom of the sixth set her up to score on a groundout in the next at-bat to bring the Pride within two, 5-3. A PNW throwing error in the top of the seventh helped the Greyhounds score another run, but the Pride made things interesting in the bottom half of the inning.
Learnard opened the frame with a single and a pair of walks loaded the bases with one out. PNW got Learnard across home plate on a groundout, but left runners at second and third when the game ended on a groundout in the next at-bat.
Purdue Northwest (0-1 overall) heads to Evansville, Ind., next weekend to take part in the University of Southern Indiana Midwest Region Crossover Tournament. The Pride open play in the tournament on Friday, Feb. 23, with a 2 p.m. CT game against McKendree (Ill.) followed by a 4 p.m. CT game against Drury (Mo.) at Deaconess Sports Park.
