The Pride baseball team took on Roosevelt University this Friday in a GLIAC Doubleheader where the Pride would drop game one by a score of 14-2, but bounce back and take game two 6-3.
 
The Basics

• Records: Purdue Northwest (15-17), Roosevelt (9-30)
• Location: Crestwood, Illinois
• GLIAC conference game.

 
The Breakdown
Game 1: L (14-2) - 7 Innings

• AJ Reid (Highland, Ind./Highland) opened the scoring with a solo home run to center field in the first inning, giving Purdue Northwest an early 1-0 lead.
• Owen Winters (Kouts, Ind./Kouts) collected two hits on the day, including a double in the fourth inning.
• Jayden Smith (Allegan, Mich./Allegan) added an RBI ground-rule double in the fourth, briefly cutting into Roosevelt's lead.
• Bret Matthys (Cedar Lake, Ind./Hanover Central) and Kam Earley (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) each reached base, contributing to the offensive effort.
• Conor Pangburn (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) started on the mound, allowing nine runs (seven earned) on 10 hits over 4.0 innings.
• Jorge Zavala (Chicago, Ill./Holy Trinity) pitched the final two frames, giving up four runs (three earned) on one hit.
• Roosevelt's offense was powered by Jack Kieffer, who reached base four times, scored three runs, and drove in two.
• Kole Bobbitt earned the win, tossing a complete-game 7.0 innings with 10 strikeouts and just four hits allowed.
• After Reid's homer in the top of the first, Roosevelt responded quickly with two runs in the bottom half. A passed ball scored their first run before a double by Kaden Jannenga brought home another.
• Roosevelt kept applying pressure, scoring once in the second and four more in the third behind three consecutive doubles. They added two more runs in the fourth to stretch their lead to 9-2.
• In the fifth, Roosevelt broke the game open with five additional runs, highlighted by a two-RBI triple from Berry and a series of defensive miscues by the Pride. Kieffer, Jannenga, and Casillas each recorded RBIs during the outburst.
• Despite a late push in the seventh with Winters and Smith getting on base, the Pride couldn't mount a rally as Bobbitt closed out the game.

 
The Breakdown
Game 2: W (6-3) – 9 Innings

• Kam Earley (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) led the Pride at the plate with a perfect 5-for-5 day, including a double, an RBI, and two runs scored.
• Bret Matthys (Cedar Lake, Ind./Hanover Central) contributed an RBI double in the third inning.
• Jayden Smith (Allegan, Mich./Allegan) added a key RBI single in the seventh and later scored.
• Owen Bendis (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) drove in three runs, including a two-RBI single in the ninth.
• AJ Reid (Highland, Ind./Highland) went 2-for-4 with a double and scored twice.
• Jake Nightingale (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) earned the win with a complete-game effort, allowing eight hits and no earned runs while striking out six.
• Roosevelt's K. Foran took the loss, surrendering two runs over six innings.
• The game remained scoreless through two innings before Purdue Northwest broke through in the third. A ground-rule double from Earley scored Drake Ballard (Louisville, Ky./Martha Laynes Collins), followed by Matthys driving in Earley with a double to left center.
• Roosevelt got on the board in the fifth with an unearned run. In the seventh, the Pride extended their lead with RBI plays from Smith and Bendis to go up 4-1. Roosevelt answered with another unearned run in the bottom half to cut the lead to 4-2.
• Purdue Northwest added insurance in the ninth with a clutch two-RBI single from Bendis, scoring Smith and Reid to make it 6-2. Roosevelt managed one more unearned run in the bottom of the ninth, but Nightingale shut the door to secure the win.
• In total, Purdue Northwest racked up 16 hits and overcame three defensive errors with timely hitting and strong pitching.

 
Up Next
The Pride will return to action on Saturday, April 19, as they continue their series against Roosevelt University with a final game at 12:00 PM CT.