DETROIT, Mich. – Strong pitching and timely hitting propelled the Purdue Northwest softball team to a sweep of Wayne State at the Gary L. Bryce Field in Detroit.
Both games started offensively with a
Selena Michko (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) home run before
Abbie May (LaSalle, Ill./Saint Bede Academy) and
Maddison Roop (Hudson, Ill./University) were dominant in the circle keeping the Wayne State hitters off balance in their respective outings as the Pride won 7-1 in the first game and 11-1 in the second game with ten runs in the final two innings.
Michko lead the PNW offensive attack with nine home runs this season after belting one in each victory on Saturday.
Game 1
Michko's two-run homer down the left field line in the top of the second helped break out the junior power hitter from a 2-for-12 slump she was in over the previous four contests.
The 2-0 lead was all that May (7-1) would need as she turned in another rock solid complete-game performance in the circle giving up just one run on six hits with one strikeout.
May was so efficient in her outing that she needed just 89 pitched and faced 26 batters, which is five more than the minimum for a seven-inning contest.
May didn't need the extra help from her offense but it was welcomed as Michko and Bri Poehler added RBI singles through the left side in the bottom of the third for a 4-0 lead.
Aubrey Shroyer (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon) put the game away in the fourth when she blasted a home run to right to put PNW up 5-0.
Wayne State (13-20, 6-9 GLIAC) managed to scratch across a lone run in the fifth on a double, but
Madison Schultz (Lafayette, Ind./Faith Christian) answered back in the top of the sixth with an RBI single to center to score
Jocey Gault (West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison) for the final 7-1 margin.
GAME 2
It might have taken a few innings longer in the second game, but Michko got the scoring started with her second home run of the day, a solo shot to center field in the top of the fourth.
The sixth and seventh innings would turn a close game into a blowout as PNW notched back to back five run innings to take an 11-0 lead into the final half inning of play.
Shroyer and Schultz combined to drove in three runs with doubles each in the sixth to go along with Gault's RBI single that drove in Shroyer and Gault eventually scoring on a wild pitch.
Allison Arnold (Tucson, Ariz./Naperville North) sent a one-out, bases loaded single into left to start the scoring in the seventh before Gault provided the nail in the coffin when she blasted a grand slam to left to also score Arnold,
Ashley Bravo (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) and
Kara Aloisio (North Aurora, Ill./Yorkville).
Roop (5-2) was magical in her appearance in the circle keeping the Warriors off balance and off the scoreboard until the bottom of the seventh when the game was already well in hand.
A one-out catcher's interference with the bases loaded was the only play that brought in a run in the seventh for Wayne State otherwise Roop would have had a shutout to her name.
Roop was perfect through the first three innings and her perfect game was broke up when the leadoff batter in the fourth reached on a error. Roop finished the game giving up just three hits while striking out one and walking two as she got 15 of the first 17 batters she faced out.
Five PNW batters collected multi-hit performances highlighted by Gault going 3 for 4 with five RBI and two runs scored as well as Arnold matching with a 3 for 4 performance and driving in one and scoring twice.
UP NEXT
PNW will have Monday off before traveling to nearby Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday for a doubleheader with Parkside. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. 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.
