WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Purdue Northwest softball team split Monday's doubleheader at The Spring Games as each contest ended with the same score on a walk-off finish. The Pride fell 5-4 in extra innings against Bentley (Mass.) before rallying to defeat New Haven (Conn.) 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh.
PNW moved to 6-4 on the season after the comeback win in the nightcap. Both games featured quality outings from starting pitchers
Emma Hill (Holmes Beach, Fla./Cary-Grove (IL)) and
Abbie May (LaSalle, Ill./Saint Bede Academy). Shortstop
Jocey Gault (West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison) launched a three-run home run in each game to power the offense. The Pride have six games remaining on the southern tour and return to action on Wednesday morning.
GAME 1: BENTLEY 5, PURDUE NORTHWEST 4
All five runs surrendered in the first game were unearned as the ball bounced in Bentley's favor. The Falcons scored first with a pair of runs in the second inning before Gault's three-run blast in the fourth gave the Pride their first lead of the day.
Hill found her groove in the circle and only allowed one extra-base hit with six strikeouts in the complete-game effort. After Bentley tied the game on an error in the bottom of the sixth, Hill worked out of a one-out jam with two runners in scoring position by striking out the next two batters.
In the eighth inning,
Selena Michko (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) scored on a wild pitch to put the Pride ahead 4-3. Michko started the inning at second base due to the international tiebreaker rule.
The Falcons also had a runner at second base to open the bottom of the eighth and played small ball to score a pair of runs in the walk-off victory. A seeing-eye bunt single split the PNW defenders to push the game-tying run across. Then, a sac bunt turned into a throwing error to allow the game-winning run.
Michko (2 for 4) and
Amanda Noblett (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) (2 for 3) each recorded a pair of hits. Noblett collected her first double of the season.
Bentley (4-7) outhit PNW in the contest 8-5 as reliever Payton Doiron earned the victory.
GAME 2: PURDUE NORTHWEST 5, NEW HAVEN 4
After a four-run inning to open the game, New Haven's bats were silenced as May settled in to retire 19 of the final 20 batters she faced. The right-hander nearly escaped the first inning unscathed before the Chargers produced back-to-back two-run hits to grab the early lead. May earned her second win in the circle and logged her first complete game.
Fortunately, PNW would also find a stroke of two-out magic as Gault's second long ball of the day plated three runs and cut the deficit to one in the bottom of the first.
The score remained 4-3 with the Chargers leading until the ball finally bounced the Pride's way on the Florida trip.
Noblett singled up the middle to lead off the bottom of the seventh and then pinch-hitter
Montana Martinez (Calumet City, Ill./Thornton Fractional South) was plunked on the side to place two runners aboard.
Following a pair of fielder's choice putouts, the Pride were down to their final out but
Allison Arnold (Tucson, Ariz./Naperville North) battled through an extended at-bat to draw a walk to load the bases.
Madi Schultz stepped in the box next and drove a fly ball to left field that seemed routine, but miscommunication between the outfielders allowed the game-winning runs to score.
Both teams finished with five hits in the contest as Gault went 2 for 3 to lead the Pride. Noblett, Schultz and
Ashley Bravo (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) combined for the additional three base knocks.
The win marked the second walk-off victory for PNW this season. The Pride also plated two runs in the final at-bat in a 4-3 win over Hillsdale.
UP NEXT
After an off day, PNW will return to DiamondPlex on Wednesday morning for matchups against Saint Anselm (8:15 a.m. CDT) and Minnesota Crookston (12:30 p.m. CDT).
PNW's upcoming matchups at The Spring Games will air live on
FloSoftball and live stats will be available on PNWathletics.com.
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.
