ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Purdue Northwest softball team opened the 2022 season with a pair of wins Thursday afternoon at the Midwest Region crossover tournament, which is hosted by Lewis at The Dome in Rosemont.
PNW came from behind to defeat Truman State 4-3 in the first game, before cruising past Upper Iowa in the nightcap, 9-1. It's the first 2-0 start for the Pride since the 2019 region crossover.
GAME 1: PNW 4, TRUMAN 3
Jocey Gault (West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison) recorded a career-high three hits, including a clutch double to plate the go-ahead run, as the junior shortstop led the Pride in the season opener.
PNW trailed 3-1 entering the bottom of the fourth, but Gault's second triple of the game bounced off the wall in left center to bring home
Madison Schultz (Lafayette, Ind./Faith Christian). Schultz reached on a hit-by-pitch to lead off the inning. Then, senior right fielder
Amanda Noblett (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) stepped in next and singled home Gault to even the score at 3-3.
The next inning featured Gault's third extra-base hit, a two-out double to right center which put the Pride in the lead for good.
Selena Michko (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) started the fifth-inning rally with a double and came around to score the winning run.
Starter
Abbie May (LaSalle, Ill./Saint Bede Academy) went five innings and earned the win in the circle. The right-hander surrendered one earned run on eight hits and five strikeouts.
Emma Hill (Holmes Beach, Fla./Cary-Grove (IL)) closed the door in the final two frames for the save. The Pride hurlers didn't allow a walk in the first contest.
Gault finished 3 for 3 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Noblett recorded two RBI.
Truman's Annabel Zimmer took the loss in the circle. The Bulldogs outhit the Pride 10-6 and were led by DP Shelby Webster (2-3, 2B).
GAME 2: PNW 9, UPPER IOWA 1
PNW scored in all but two innings and outhit Upper Iowa 10-5 in the second matchup.
The Pride raced out to a 5-0 lead after
Allison Arnold's (Tucson, Ariz./Naperville North) two-run homer in the second inning. The scoring started early as Gault stayed hot at the plate with a two-run single in the first. Then,
Ashley Bravo's (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) double in the second frame made it 3-0, before Arnold's third-career blast.
Arnold, Bravo and
Kara Aloisio (North Aurora, Ill./Yorkville) each recorded two hits. Additionally,
Selena Michko (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) and
Kelsi Dillon (Braidwood, Ill./Reed-Custer (Georgian Court)) each produced a double while Gault and
Madison Schultz (Lafayette, Ind./Faith Christian) had base knocks.
Sophomore
Gabby Paliska (Palos Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way East (Wisconsin-Green Bay)) earned the win in her Pride debut with five strikeouts in four innings of work. The right-hander only allowed one run on two hits and no walks. Sophomore
Maddison Roop (Hudson, Ill./University) finished the game with three shutout frames in relief.
Upper Iowa's Kaylee Frenette led the Peacocks with two hits. Starting pitcher Rylee McGonigle was tagged with her second loss.
UP NEXT
PNW will play Ursuline (OH) at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning, before Saturday's doubleheader against McKendree and William Jewell. The weekend finale is set for Sunday against Hillsdale.
FOLLOW THE PRIDE
For all the latest information on Purdue Northwest Softball, please visit PNWathletics.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Pride (@pnwathletics / @PNWSoftball) on Twitter. You can also find the Pride on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
