SANDUSKY, Ohio – Purdue Northwest came up short in the semifinals at the GLIAC Softball Tournament Saturday afternoon at Sports Force Parks. The fifth-seeded Pride fell by a final score of 5-2 against the No. 1 seed Grand Valley State as the Lakers advanced to the GLIAC Finals tomorrow morning.
PNW moves to 27-17 overall following the setback and will wait to see if its name is called during Monday night's
NCAA Division II softball selection show. The Pride's 27 wins are a new program record during the school's DII era.
Kelsi Dillon's (Braidwood, Ill./Reed-Custer (Georgian Court)) two-run single in the fifth inning trimmed a five-run deficit to three when she pulled the ball through the left side. That scored
Selena Michko (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) and
Allison Arnold (Tucson, Ariz./Naperville North) to make the score 5-2.
Michko broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the fifth after GVSU All-American Hannah Beatus retired 9 of the first 10 batters she faced. Beatus posted 13 strikeouts and allowed just one walk.
Amanda Noblett (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) singled in the seventh inning during what might prove to be her final career at-bat.
GVSU (40-5) jumped ahead early with two runs in the first, before scoring three runs on two hits in the fifth. The Lakers tallied 10 hits and were the beneficiaries of five PNW errors.
Abbie May (LaSalle, Ill./Saint Bede Academy) (3.2 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 3 BB) started in the circle for the Pride and finished the season with an 8-4 record.
Gabby Paliska (Palos Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way East (Wisconsin-Green Bay)) made her second relief appearance of the day and only allowed one hit over the final two-and-a-third.
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