INDIANAPOLIS — Runs were bountiful as the Purdue Northwest baseball team crossed the plate 25 times in a doubleheader sweep of University of Indianapolis to extend the school-record winning streak to 10 games Tuesday evening at Greyhound Park.
PNW (10-1) downed the Greyhounds by a 7-3 count in the opening game, before blistering the ball for 20 hits en route to a 18-7 victory in the nightcap.
The 10-game win streak is not only a school record, but it also moves PNW into a tie with Saint Leo (Fla.), Central Missouri and Illinois-Springfield with the longest active Division II win streaks in the country.
GAME 1: PURDUE NORTHWEST 7, UINDY 3
Game 1 saw the Pride get out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third by playing station-to-station baseball.
Jake Soules (Troy, Mich./Troy High School) led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sac bunt by
Ethan Imlach (Mokena, Ill./Mount Carmel). Soules later scored on a single through the left side by
Tyler Schultz (Hobart, Ind./Hobart).
Donovan Nanfeldt (Oak Forest, Ill./Victor J. Andrew (IU-Southeast)) led off the fourth inning with a double to left field for his first hit in a Pride uniform, and would later score on a ground out to second base by
Gannon Andrews (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern High School).
Luke Montgomery (Orland Park, Ill./St. Laurence High School) highlighted the fourth inning with a two-out home run toward the dome facility beyond the right field fence for a 3-0 PNW lead.
Then, a two-out, bases-loaded walk in the top of the fifth by
Anthony Fumagalli (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North High School) plated Imlach for a 4-0 Pride advantage.
UIndy would finally get to PNW starting pitcher
Bret Matthys (Cedar Lake, Ind./Hanover Central) for a run in the bottom of the fifth on a home run by Bo Minor, but Matthys was brilliant on the bump prior to the one mistake.
Matthys (1-0) earned his first collegiate win after tossing four innings of work. The left-hander allowed just four hits with two strikeouts and no walks while exiting with a 4-1 lead.
The Greyhounds added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth off reliever
Jackson Lund (Big Rapids, Mich./Big Rapids High School) before the Pride put the game away with a trio of runs with two outs in the seventh.
Schultz was brought in on a bases-loaded walk by Andrews, just before Montgomery provided the final dagger when his single up the middle would score
Josh Lindeman (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point High School) and
Ray Hilbrich (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) for the final 7-3 margin.
Riley Gallagher (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North High School) hurled the final two innings on the bump for the Pride, giving up just one hit and striking out one for his first career save.
Schultz and Montgomery led the way at the plate with two hits each while Montgomery tallied three RBI and Andrews followed with two.
GAME 2: PURDUE NORTHWEST 18, UINDY 7
Game 2 would see the PNW bats come alive early with five consecutive one-out hits in the top of the first.
Schultz got the Pride on the board with a double up the middle to score Imlach, who reached on a single.
Hilbrich's single to right brought in Schultz just prior to
Alex Gasbarro (New Lenox, Ill./St. Laurence High School) and Matthys finishing off the hit parade in the first with singles. Matthys drove in Hilbrich for the game's third run and Gasbarro later scored on a two-out error by the first baseman for a 4-0 PNW lead to start the game.
UIndy would answer back with the first three batters reaching safely and a run scoring off starting pitcher
Jack Sielatycki (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern), before the sophomore right-hander buckled down and kept the PNW lead at 4-1 after the opening frame.
The Pride scored another run by way of an errant throw on a stolen base attempt, before Gasbarro brought in Hilbrich and Imlach for a 7-1 lead.
UIndy notched single runs in the bottom of the second and third innings, but PNW answered each of those runs with a pair of scores in the top of the third and fourth innings each. The big blow during that stretch was
Jack Gallagher's (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North High School) one-out RBI double to left field in the top of the fourth to score Gasbarro.
PNW put the game out of reach with six runs in the top of the fifth on four hits coupled with three walks. Gasbarro, Matthys, Lindeman,
Andrew Petsche (Oswego, Ill./Oswego East) and Montgomery all drove in runs during the scoring barrage for a 17-3 lead after the top of the fifth.
Schultz scored the final run of the game by way of a wild pitch after leading off the top of the sixth with a triple.
Every batter in the PNW lineup recorded at least one hit and one RBI. Gasbarro produced a career-high four hits with a double, three RBI and three runs. Schultz finished 3 for 5 with a double and a triple while
Luke Montgomery (Orland Park, Ill./St. Laurence High School) went 3 for 6. Hilbrich also recorded three hits and has reached base safely in all 11 games this season. Imlach (2 for 6) and Lindeman (2 for 5) also posted multi-hit efforts.
Tristan Baker (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) picked up the win for PNW after tossing 2.1 innings giving up just one run on one hit while collecting one strikeout and one walk.
UP NEXT
PNW returns to action with a home-and-home weekend series with nearby Lewis University. Saturday's doubleheader will take place at Dowling Park with Sunday's games at Lewis. First pitch for Saturday's first game is scheduled for noon CDT.
FOLLOW THE PRIDE
For all the latest information on Purdue Northwest Baseball, please visit PNWathletics.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Pride (@pnwathletics / @PNW_Baseball) on Twitter. You can also find the Pride on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
