UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. — Purdue Northwest fell to Saginaw Valley State in both games of Friday's GLIAC softball doubleheader by scores of 14-6 and 4-2.
PNW moved to 17-9 overall and 7-5 in conference play while SVSU improved to 24-12 (10-4 GLIAC) and leapfrogged the Pride for second place in the GLIAC. The two teams split the season series with each squad winning both games at home.
GAME 1: SAGINAW VALLEY ST. 14, PURDUE NORTHWEST 6
With the game tied 3-3, the host Cardinals used a seven-run fourth inning to break open the first game of the twinbill.
PNW jumped out to a 2-0 lead on
Jocey Gault's (West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison) two-run single in the first, but SVSU responded to take a 3-2 lead with a run in the first and two in the second.
Gault produced two more runs and finished with four RBIs and pair of hits in the contest. Her third RBI knock of the game made it 10-4 in the fifth. That was followed by a two-run home run from
Madison Schultz (Lafayette, Ind./Faith Christian) to trim the seven-run deficit down to four at 10-6. For Schultz, it was her fourth home run of the season and 20th for her career.
Emma Hill (Holmes Beach, Fla./Cary-Grove (IL)) got the start in the circle and tossed three-and-two-thirds, while
Maddison Roop (Hudson, Ill./University) came on in relief.
Aubrey Shroyer (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon) added a pair of base hits to help lead the Pride at the dish, along with Gault. The Pride were outhit in the first game by the same margin as the final score, 14-6.
GAME 2: SAGINAW VALLEY ST., 4, PURDUE NORTHWEST 2
SVSU's starting pitcher Julia Mundy struck out 12 and tossed a two-hitter in the nightcap to earn the win. Only one of the runs charged against Mundy was earned — that was
Selena Michko's (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) solo blast to give the Pride a 1-0 lead in the 2nd. Michko is tied for second in the GLIAC with seven home runs.
PNW sliced the deficit to one when Gault reached on an error to allow
Ashley Bravo (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) to score in the sixth. But, SVSU's Maddie Campagna homered in the home half to keep the Cardinals in front for good. Campagna also homered against the Pride two weeks ago in Hammond.
Gabby Paliska (Palos Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way East (Wisconsin-Green Bay)) threw all six frames in the circle for the Pride and was tagged with the loss. Paliska didn't walk a batter and struck out two batters.
The Cardinals outhit the Pride 10-2 in the second game as Shroyer notched the only PNW hit other than MIchko's home run.
UP NEXT
PNW will look to snap a three-game slide tomorrow afternoon at Wayne State. The first game of Saturday's doubleheader is slated for noon CDT.
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.
