CALEDONIA, Mich. – Purdue Northwest's offense couldn't get going in Friday's 6-2 series-opening loss at Davenport.
PNW dropped to .500 on the season following the loss with an overall record of 18-18 (7-14 GLIAC), while DU improved to 27-20 (15-6 GLIAC) and remains atop the league standings.
Jack Gallagher's (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North High School) two-run double got the scoring started with two outs in the second inning. The junior catcher drove a 1-2 pitch to the wall in left field to score
Ray Hilbrich (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) and
Alex Gasbarro (New Lenox, Ill./St. Laurence High School).
The Pride would hold that lead until the sixth when DU took advantage of a pair of walks to manufacture its first run on a fielder's choice and cut the deficit to one. PNW struggled at the plate and tallied just three hits on the night, allowing the Panthers an opportunity to chip away.
PNW starter
Sam Shively (Mishawaka, Ind./Mishawaka (Taylor)) was outstanding on the mound and took a no-hitter into the fourth, and only allowed one hit through six frames. The right-hander struck out seven and walked four.
Shively would start the seventh, but ran into trouble after surrendering three consecutive hits to open the frame including leadoff double. He left with the score tied at 2-2, but was tagged with the loss after the Panthers would get a clutch two-out double later in the inning to take the 4-2 lead. Shively closes out the regular season with a 3-5 record after making a team-high 10 starts.
The Panthers tacked on two more runs, both of which were marked unearned, in the eighth.
DU's starter Derrick Edington struck out 11 across seven innings to earn his fifth win. The 6-foot-8 righty allowed just one hit, walked three and hit a batter.
Ricky Clark picked up his second save for the Panthers.
UP NEXT
PNW will continue the series tomorrow at Davenport with a doubleheader start time of noon CT. The Pride and Panthers will close out the regular season with Sunday afternoon's matchup.
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