On Friday, the PNW Baseball team journeyed to Detroit, Michigan, to commence their four-game series against Wayne State University. Unfortunately, the Pride lost the initial game to the Warriors, with a final score of 7-4.
The Basics
• Records: Purdue Northwest (17-26), Wayne State (27-18)
• Location: Detroit, Michigan
• GLIAC Conference Game
The Breakdown
•
Drake Ballard (Louisville, Ky./Martha Laynes Collins) would lead the Pride with three hits and an RBI.
•
Dan Puplava () and
Luke Montgomery (Orland Park, Ill./St. Laurence High School) also contributed two hits each.
•
Blake Newell (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) started on the mound for Purdue Northwest throwing six innings while striking out six batters.
• Logan Van Sicklen led Wayne State with two hits and two RBIs.
• Griffin Kilander started and threw six innings, striking out four for the Warriors.
• The game started with Wayne State gaining an early lead in the second inning, courtesy of a powerful home run to left field, bringing in two runs. However, PNW quickly responded in the third inning when
Cole Olson's (Stanton, Mich./Central Montcalm) groundout to shortstop allowed
Luke Montgomery (Orland Park, Ill./St. Laurence High School) to score, narrowing the gap.
• The momentum continued in the fifth inning when
Billy Jones () doubled to left center, bringing
Drake Ballard (Louisville, Ky./Martha Laynes Collins) home and tying the score at 2-2. In the sixth inning, PNW seized the lead with
Aden Johnson's () sacrifice fly to right field, scoring
Dan Puplava ().
Drake Ballard (Louisville, Ky./Martha Laynes Collins) followed up with a single to right field, bringing
Jax Kalemba (Chicago, Ill./Andrean) home and extending PNW's lead to 4-2.
• Despite PNW's efforts, Wayne State staged a comeback in the seventh inning, capitalizing on PNW's defensive errors. A series of unearned runs allowed Wayne State to take the lead, ultimately securing the victory with a final score of 7-4.
Up Next
On May 4th, the Pride will return to the field to face Wayne State University for games two and three of the four-game series in Detroit, Michigan. The action is scheduled to start at 12:00 pm CT.
