The PNW Baseball team had a dominant performance this Tuesday as they took two games from Thomas More by the scores of 6-0 and 16-1.
 
The Basics:

• Records: Purdue Northwest (8-4), Thomas More (5-12)
• Location: Hammond, Indiana (Labors' Local 41)
• Non-conference game

 
The Breakdown
Game 1: W 6-0 (7 Innings)

• AJ Reid (Highland, Ind./Highland) played a key role in the Pride's win, scoring twice and recording a hit while drawing two walks.
• Kam Earley (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) contributed with two hits and a run scored.
• Joey Guiliano (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) drove in a run and reached base twice.
• Owen Winters (Kouts, Ind./Kouts) added an RBI single in the fifth inning.
• Blake Newell (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) (2-1) earned the win with a dominant outing, allowing just one hit over four scoreless innings while striking out two.
• Jake Nightingale (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) shut the door with three perfect innings, striking out five and securing the shutout.
• Purdue Northwest jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Ethan Imlach (Mokena, Ill./Mount Carmel) scored the opening run on a wild pitch. AJ Reid (Highland, Ind./Highland) followed by scoring on another wild pitch after Jayden Smith (Allegan, Mich./Allegan) and Bret Matthys (Cedar Lake, Ind./Hanover Central) advanced on wild pitches. Joey Guiliano (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) then reached on an error by the left fielder, allowing Smith and Matthys to score and giving the Pride a 4-0 lead.
• The Pride extended their lead in the fifth inning. Owen Winters (Kouts, Ind./Kouts) singled to center field, driving in Kam Earley (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) to make it 5-0. Later in the inning, Guiliano grounded into a fielder's choice, bringing in AJ Reid (Highland, Ind./Highland) to increase the lead to 6-0.
• Newell and Nightingale combined to shut down Thomas More's offense, allowing just three hits and striking out seven. Newell earned his second win of the season, while Nightingale's dominant relief work sealed the Pride's victory.

 
The Breakdown
Game 2: W 16-1 (7 Innings)
 

• Jayden Smith (Allegan, Mich./Allegan) had a monster game, going 5-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs.
• Kam Earley (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) recorded four hits, including a home run, and drove in three runs.
• Joey Guiliano (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) added two hits, two runs, and an RBI.
• Braylon Holland (Hobart, Ind./Andrean) contributed three RBIs with a double.
• Ryan Barmes (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer) (1-0) earned the win, tossing two scoreless innings while striking out one.
  The Pride's pitching staff allowed just one run on four hits while striking out five.
• Purdue Northwest exploded for eight runs in the first inning. Jayden Smith (Allegan, Mich./Allegan) opened the scoring with a two-run double to center field. Braylon Holland (Hobart, Ind./Andrean) followed with a three-run double, and Drake Ballard's (Louisville, Ky./Martha Laynes Collins) RBI double extended the lead to 6-0. Joey Guiliano (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) and Kam Earley (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) each added RBI hits to push the lead to 8-0.
• Thomas More got on the board in the third inning when M. Correa scored on a wild pitch, but the Pride answered quickly. Earley's RBI double and Smith's two-run double in the bottom of the third stretched the lead to 11-1.
• Purdue Northwest kept the pressure on, scoring two more in the fourth inning on an error and an RBI single by Earley. Earley then launched a solo homer in the sixth, followed by RBI hits from Cole Olson (Stanton, Mich./Central Montcalm) and Ethan Imlach (Mokena, Ill./Mount Carmel) to cap off the 16-1 win.
• The Pride's bullpen combined for five innings of one-run ball, with Ethan Knopf (Crown Point, Ind./Lake Central), Doug Loden (St. John, Ind./Lake Central), Mitchell Stanton (South Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic), and Eric Beck (Manteno, Ill/Manteno) each contributing solid relief outings.

 
Up Next:
The Pride baseball team will kick off conference play on Friday, March 21 as they take on Davenport University in a four game weekend series. Game time is set for 3:00 PM CT.