WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Purdue Northwest sat two outs away from securing a win in its Florida debut, but Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) rallied with five unearned runs to edge out the Pride by a 6-4 margin at DiamondPlex in Winter Haven.
Allison Arnold (Tucson, Ariz./Naperville North) and
Madison Schultz (Lafayette, Ind./Faith Christian) each homered in the opening game as PNW built a 4-1 advantage entering the seventh inning. However, IUP used timely hitting to rally after a pair of PNW errors. The Crimson Hawks' Sara Tailford cleared the bases with a triple to highlight a string of four consecutive base knocks for IUP following the defensive miscues.
Montana Martinez (Calumet City, Ill./Thornton Fractional South) drew a leadoff walk in PNW's final at-bat, but the game ended in gut-wrenching fashion on an unorthodox double play following an infield single.
Starter
Gabby Paliska (Palos Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way East (Wisconsin-Green Bay)) struck out four and surrendered only one earned run, but the sophomore right-hander was tagged with her first loss (2-1).
IUP's Amanda Fischer (3-2) was the beneficiary of the late rally as she picked up the win in the circle.
In her first at-bat, Arnold took the first pitch she saw and sent it deep over the fence in right center to put the Pride ahead 1-0. It was the sophomore's third long ball of the season and fifth of her career.
PNW added another run in the second when
Ashley Bravo's (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) two-out infield single plated
Jocey Gault (West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison). Gault led off the inning with a sharp line-drive double to center. Then Schultz blasted her first home run of the season, and 17th of her career, with a two-run shot to right field which put PNW in front, 4-0.
IUP (5-4) got a run back in the fourth with a solo blast from catcher Jenna Rhue. However, Paliska would settle in to retire nine consecutive batters before the hard-luck ending.
Bravo and
Selena Michko (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) paced the Pride with two hits, apiece.
UP NEXT
PNW plays Post University in a 12:45 p.m. CDT matchup to conclude the first day of action.
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