HAMMOND, Ind. –
Joe Buikema (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) turned in a career performance as Purdue Northwest took Game 1 of a doubleheader split Friday afternoon at Laborers' Local 41 Field at Dowling Park. The Pride won the opener by a final score of 2-0 and fell in the nightcap 18-0.
Buikema, a junior from Chicago, made his first start of the season and went five-and-a-third scoreless innings for the longest outing of his career. He tossed a brilliant game from the mound as he allowed just five hits to go along with two walks and five strikeouts.
Sam Shively (Mishawaka, Ind./Mishawaka (Taylor)) came on in relief and earned the save. The right-hander was just as impressive working out of a sticky situation by getting a foul out and a strikeout to end a threat in the sixth. The save was Shively's second of the season as he did not allow a hit or walk while striking out two.
PNW (13-11, 2-7 GLIAC) was hitless on offense until the bottom of the fourth when
Ray Hilbrich (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) and
Ethan Imlach (Mokena, Ill./Mount Carmel) collected back-to-back singles to left field but were eventually stranded on base.
Jake Soules (Troy, Mich./Troy High School) ended the shutout when his sacrifice fly to center brought in
Anthony Fumagalli (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North High School), who led off the inning with a ground-rule double and advanced to third on a ground out to second by
Jack Gallagher (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North High School).
Alex Gasbarro (New Lenox, Ill./St. Laurence High School) tacked on an insurance run with two outs in the bottom of the sixth after his single through the right side drove in Imlach from second.
Game 2 saw Northwood (18-15-1, 5-6 GLIAC) break open a scoreless tie in the fourth with two runs. Those proved to be enough as the PNW bats were silenced and their Northwood counterparts came to life collecting a total of 18 runs on 16 hits.
Starter
Bret Matthys (Cedar Lake, Ind./Hanover Central) went four innings and struck out three, but the left-hander was saddled with the loss despite only allowing one earned run on three hits and three walks.
Soules was the lone bright spot offensively for PNW in Game 2, going 2 for 3 at the dish.
UP NEXT
The Pride will look to clinch the series win as the fourth and final game is scheduled to begin at noon CDT on Saturday.
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.
