WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Purdue Northwest softball team rode a pair of brilliant pitching performances to shutout Minot State 1-0 and Southern Connecticut State 4-0 to close out the trip to The Spring Games in Winter Haven, Fla.
The pair of shutout victories mark the first time since Feb. 22, 2019, that the Pride (10-4) have downed both opponents in the same day in shutout fashion as well as the fastest to 10 wins in program history.
GAME 1: PURDUE NORTHWEST 1, MINOT STATE 0
Gabby
Paliska tossed a four-hitter and improved to 3-1 in the circle as the Pride dealt Minot State only its second loss in 11 games.
Paliska struck out five and only walked one in her first career shutout. The sophomore had a no-hitter going with two outs in the fourth inning, before the Beavers were successful on a bunt single.
The lone run in the game crossed on
Allison Arnold's (Tucson, Ariz./Naperville North) solo blast in the first inning. For Arnold, it was her team-leading fourth home run of the season. The Pride managed just one hit the rest of the way with an infield single by Kara
Aloisio.
PNW's best scoring chance came when two runners reached scoring position in the second, but the frame ended on a double play. Selena
Michko roped a line drive to deep center field that had a chance to go over the wall, but MSU center fielder
Jazmin Karunungan made a diving catch and tumbled into the fence netting.
Minot State threatened with a leadoff single in both the sixth and the seventh, but
Paliska responded with a strikeout in both instances to prevent damage. All four of
MSU's hits went for singles.
GAME 2: PURDUE NORTHWEST 4, SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE 0
Abbie May (LaSalle, Ill./Saint Bede Academy) matched Paliska in the circle with a shutout of her own en route to defeating Southern Connecticut State 4-0. May faced just 25 batters, which is four more than the minimum for a seven-inning game, allowing a miniscule two hits while striking out three, walking one and hitting two with pitches.
Southern Connecticut State threatened in the bottom of the first when the leadoff batter was hit by a pitch and the second batter reached safe on a bunt single, but May got out of the jam unscathed and would allow just one hit the rest of the game while leaning on the stellar defense the Pride also had on display. May would go on to retire 18 consecutive batters before plunking the seventh-inning leadoff batter.
Michko led off the top of the second with a double to left field and advanced to third on a single to right by
Montana Martinez (Calumet City, Ill./Thornton Fractional South). Michko later scored on a wild pitch with no outs before Martinez crossed the plate by way of a RBI groundout to the catcher by
Myah Stuckey (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville).
The Pride would add a pair of two-out runs in the fourth for the final 4-0 margin.
Kelsi Dillon's (Braidwood, Ill./Reed-Custer (Georgian Court)) single to left field plated
Amanda Noblett (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central), who started the two-out rally with a double to left center.
Ashley Bravo (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) pummeled a double of her own to cap the scoring and allowing Aloisio to stroll in from second.
UP NEXT
Should Mother Nature comply, PNW will begin the home portion of the schedule when the Pride will welcome the Lewis University Flyers to Dowling Park on Wed., March 23 for a pair of contests. First pitch for the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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.
