On Tuesday, the Purdue Northwest baseball team traveled to Romeoville, Illinois, to take on Lewis University in a non-conference matchup. The Pride struggled to get their offense going and fell to the Flyers in game one by a final score of 11-1 but bounced back in game two to secure a 6-5 win.
The Basics
- Records: Purdue Northwest (11-15), Lewis (25-7)
- Location: Romeoville, Illinois
- Non-conference game
The Breakdown
Game 1: L (11-10) – 7 Innings
- Joey Guiliano (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) led the Pride with one of the team's three hits on the day.
- Kam Earley (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) and Ethan Imlach (Mokena, Ill./Mount Carmel) also contributed singles.
- Braylon Holland (Hobart, Ind./Andrean) drove in Purdue Northwest's only run with an RBI groundout in the fifth.
- Jorge Zavala (Chicago, Ill./Holy Trinity) made the start for the Pride, pitching 1.1 innings and allowing three earned runs.
- The bullpen saw action from Jacob Chajet (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel Catholic), Ryan Barmes (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer), Aiden Green (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley), and Jermaine Salcedo (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows).
- Jackson Kottmeyer earned the win for Lewis, throwing six strong innings with five strikeouts and allowing just one earned run.
- Jason Krol led the Lewis offense with three RBIs, while T. Phommacha added two hits and three RBIs.
- The game opened quietly with both teams going scoreless in the first inning, but Lewis broke through in the second.
- A bases-loaded walk by Daniel O'Brien brought in the first run, followed by a two-RBI single up the middle from T. Phommacha to give the Flyers an early 3-0 lead.
- Lewis continued their offensive surge in the fourth, scoring five runs on four hits and a hit-by-pitch. A string of RBI singles from Cain Headrick, Jason Krol, and T. Phommacha extended the lead to 8-0.
- Purdue Northwest got on the board in the fifth inning when Doug Loden (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) was hit by a pitch, advanced on a fielder's choice, and scored on Braylon Holland's (Hobart, Ind./Andrean) groundout to third.
- However, Lewis answered with three more runs over the next two innings, including an RBI single from Mario Prieto in the sixth that pushed the score to 11-1.
Game 2: W (6-5) – 7 Innings
- Jayden Smith (Allegan, Mich./Allegan) and Jax Kalemba (Chicago, Ill./Andrean) each tallied two hits, with Smith delivering a key RBI double.
- Drake Ballard (Louisville, Ky./Martha Laynes Collins) reached base three times and drove in two runs, including a sacrifice fly that gave the Pride the go-ahead lead in the sixth.
- Brayden Barrett (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) went 2-for-4 and scored a run.
- Kam Earley (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) collected two hits and an RBI.
- AJ Reid (Highland, Ind./Highland) contributed a sacrifice fly, while also starting on the mound and pitching 4.2 innings.
- Eric Beck (Manteno, Ill/Manteno) earned the win in relief, striking out three over 1.1 scoreless innings.
- Nick Mangano (Glenwood, Ill./Marian Catholic) pitched a scoreless frame in the middle innings to keep the game close.
- Purdue Northwest got on the board in the second when Jayden Smith (Allegan, Mich./Allegan) ripped a double to right-center, scoring Drake Ballard (Louisville, Ky./Martha Laynes Collins).
- Lewis tied it in the fourth on an RBI triple from Cole Nelson.
- The Pride responded in the fifth with back-to-back RBI plate appearances from Ballard and Kalemba, giving them a 3-1 lead. However, Lewis struck back with a four-run bottom half of the inning, highlighted by Bilecki's two-run double and Hunley's two-run homer, putting the Flyers ahead 5-3.
- In the sixth, Purdue Northwest rallied again. Kam Earley (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) singled to score Joey Guiliano (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North), followed by sacrifice flies from AJ Reid (Highland, Ind./Highland) and Ballard to reclaim a 6-5 lead.
The bullpen held strong from there, with Eric Beck (Manteno, Ill/Manteno) striking out the side in the sixth and working a clean seventh to close it out.
Up Next:
The Pride will return to action on April 11th as they take on the University of St. Francis (Ill.) in Joliet, IL, game time set for 1:00 PM CT.