HAMMOND, Ind. – Purdue Northwest couldn't hold on to an early lead in the series finale against Davenport as the visiting Panthers won 14-5 at Dowling Park.
PNW's record fell to 8-13 (2-10 GLIAC) on the season while DU improved to 15-9 (8-4 GLIAC) overall. The Panthers poured on 12 unanswered runs after the Pride carried a 5-2 lead into the fifth inning and the visitors tallied the most runs against PNW in a game this season.
Jake Soules' RBI ground-rule double put the Pride on the board in the first inning after
Ray Hilbrich's leadoff triple. Two batters later,
Brett Veltema knocked in Soules on a sacrifice fly and the Pride added another run on a wild pitch to take a 3-0 lead after one.
Both teams scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning – which included an RBI knock from
Luke Montgomery and another run-producing hit by Soules, who went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles to lead the Pride on the day. It was his second three-hit outing of the season. Montgomery also reached three times after going 2-for-3 with a walk.
Jackson Lund drew the start on the mound and went five innings. The right-hander got off to a strong start with just one hit allowed in the first three frames. However, the Panthers chipped away with two runs in the fourth and fifth, and three more scored in the sixth to give DU the lead for good.
Lund's final line included eight hits, five earned runs, two strikeouts and one walk.
Tristan Baker,
Noah Burgh,
Sean Casey and
Jeremy Urdiales combined to toss the final four frames on the hill.
DU reliever Cal Djuraskov (2-0) earned the win in four shutout innings of relief. The left-hander made his third appearance in the series and logged six strikeouts. The Pride chased starter Duncan Gillett in the first inning after facing six batters.
The Panthers outhit the Pride 19-8 in the contest as Christian Petre went 4-for-6 and Nolan Anspaugh finished 3-for-6 with four RBIs, a double and home run. Travis Harvey also homered for the Panthers.
NEXT UP
PNW travels to Ashland for a four-game set next weekend in Ashland, Ohio.
