The Purdue Northwest softball team split their home opener in GLIAC action against Saginaw Valley State on Sunday afternoon, falling in a tough Game 1 battle, 6-3, and earning a walk-off winner in Game 2, 6-5.
The Basics
- Records: Purdue Northwest (19-13,3-3), Saginaw Valley State (19-7,3-1)
- Location: Hammond, Ind. - RUSH Physical Therapy Field
- Attendance: 200
Game 1
The Breakdown
- Senior's Selena Michko (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) led the Pride going 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and one homerun.
- Junior Allison Arnold (Tucson, Ariz./Naperville North) added one hit and one RBI.
- Senior Jocey Gault (West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison), senior Ashley Bravo (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young), and freshman Olivia Hernandez (Aurora, Ill./Aurora Central Catholic) each chipped in one hit.
- Junior Maddison Roop (Hudson, Ill./University) earned the start in the circle for the Pride and pitched all seven innings recording three strikeouts.
- Sarah Gersch led SVSU with one hit and two RBIs.
- Emily Depew pitched all seven innings for the Cardinals to earn the win with eight strikeouts.
- SVSU opened the scoring in the first inning with three runs to take an early 3-0 lead
- The Cardinals added a run in the second to make it 4-0.
- SVSU got two more runs in the fourth to extend their lead to 6-0.
- The Pride scored three runs in the fourth inning to cut their deficit to 6-3 but wasn't enough in the end.
Game 2
The Breakdown
- Freshman Myah Stuckey (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) led the Pride with two hits and one RBI.
- Bravo added one hit and two RBIs during the game.
- Junior Aubrey Shroyer (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon) chipped in two hits.
- Senior Abbie May (LaSalle, Ill./Saint Bede Academy) started in the circle for the Pride and pitched the first 5.1 innings notching three strikeouts.
- Junior Gabby Paliska (Palos Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way East (Wisconsin-Green Bay))Â came in and pitched the final 1.2Â innings for Purdue Northwest to earn the hard-fought victory.
- Gersch led SVSU with four hits and two RBIs.
- Ashley Muench started on the mound for the Cardinals and pitched the first 0.2 innings. Jaclyn Groves pitched 5.2 innings for SVSU.
- The Pride started the scoring early taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
- The Cardinals scored their first run in the second inning to tie it up 1-1.
- Purdue Northwest retook the lead off a Stuckey RBI single to make it 2-1.
- SVSUÂ tied the contest up once again in the second inning making it 2-2.
- The Cardinals took their first lead in the fourth inning scoring two runs and making the score 4-2.
- The Pride scored three runs in the fourth inning to retake the lead, 5-4
- SVSU gained a run in the seventh to even it up 5-5.
- Junior Jessica DeBoer (Dyer, Ind./Illiana Christian) hit a ball to third base for an out at first but saw Shroyer race to home plate avoiding the tag and seal the win in a walk-off, 6-5.
Up Next
- The Pride next host Wayne State in GLIAC play on Wednesday, April 5. Game 1 is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. central time at RUSH Physical Therapy Field.
