BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Purdue Northwest split a pair of GLIAC softball contests against Ferris State Saturday at FSU Softball field.
PNW recorded a 5-1 victory in the first game while Ferris State bounced back in the second game with a narrow 2-1 triumph. The Pride now carry an overall record of 11-23 (8-15 GLIAC) as the Bulldogs moved to 14-24 (7-21 GLIAC).
GAME 1: PNW 5, FSU 1
PNW raced out to a 5-0 lead after three innings and cruised the rest of the way behind starting pitcher
Courtney Blackwell. Blackwell, who improved to 6-9 in the circle, struck out five while scattering seven hits and didn't walk a batter. The lone Bulldogs run came on a home run in the fifth inning.
Allison Arnold led the Pride at the plate with a pair of RBI doubles in her first two at-bats. She finished with three RBIs and it was her fourth multi-RBI outing of the season. In addition,
Madison Schultz (1-for-4) and
Jocey Gault (1-for-3) also produced an RBI in the first contest.
Schultz knocked in
Aubrey Shroyer on an RBI single in the first inning, and Arnold followed with her first RBI double to make it 2-0. Gault brought in
Kara Aloisio on an RBI single up the middle in the second inning to make it 3-0, before Arnold's two-run double in the third extended the lead to five.
Both teams tallied seven hits in the opening game. FSU's Aryn Gallacher was tagged with the loss and surrendered four earned runs.
GAME 2: FSU 2, PNW 1
Ferris State fended off PNW in the nightcap despite the Pride outhitting the Bulldogs.
Trailing 2-0 after FSU scored once in the third and once in the fourth, the Pride were able to push one run across in the fifth.
Briana Poehler's ground ball scored
Sabryna Stanley after Stanley led off the inning with a base knock.
However, the Pride stranded two runners in the sixth and one in the seventh as the Black & Gold tried to rally.
Jessica Weaver was solid again in the circle, logging a complete-game outing with six strikeouts. The right-hander allowed six hits and three walks. FSU's Kaitlyn Nugent picked up the win after going 5.1 innings.
Ashley Bravo recorded her first three-hit game of the season in a 3-for-4 effort at the dish and Arnold (2-for-3) posted another multi-hit performance to lead the Pride in Game 2. Shroyer, Stanley and
Kiara Negron had the other three hits for PNW.
NEXT UP
PNW will travel to Ashland for a doubleheader on Friday, May 7.
