The Pride baseball team took on Saginaw Valley State University this Friday in their GLIAC opener where the Pride would fall by a score of 10-3.

The Basics

• Records: Purdue Northwest (5-9), Saginaw Valley State (10-8)
• Location: Hammond, Indiana
• GLIAC conference game.

The Breakdown

• Brayden Barrett (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) led the Pride offensively, reaching base four times with a hit and three walks while also stealing a base and scoring a run.
• Owen Winters (Kouts, Ind./Kouts) recorded a triple and drove in a run, finishing with one hit and one RBI. Billy Chidsey (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) added an RBI on a groundout, while Joey Guiliano (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) and Brett Bounds (Morris, Ill./Morris Community) each collected a hit.
• Nathan Koster (Mount Pleasant, Mich./Mount Pleasant) also reached base three times via walks and scored a run, as the Pride totaled five hits and worked 10 walks in the game.
• Owen Walkowiak (Crown Point, Ind./Andrean) got the start on the mound, allowing six runs (two earned) on six hits over 4.0 innings.
• Jacob Chajet (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel Catholic) followed with an inning of relief, allowing one unearned run.
• Dylan McGee (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) tossed two innings, giving up one run, while Connor Stafford (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) allowed two runs (one earned) in his inning of work. Ethan Plym (Seatonville, Ill./Hall) closed out the game with a scoreless ninth inning.
• Saginaw Valley got on the board in the first inning, using a walk and a single to set up an RBI groundout for a 1-0 lead. Purdue Northwest answered in the second inning as Billy Chidsey (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) reached base and came around to score on a defensive miscue, tying the game at 1-1.
• The Pride took their first lead of the game in the third inning when Brayden Barrett (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) worked a walk, advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch, and eventually came around to score to give Purdue Northwest a 2-1 advantage.
• Saginaw Valley responded in the fourth inning, tying the game on a sacrifice fly before capitalizing on a pair of defensive errors by the Pride. The Cardinals strung together timely hits, including a two-RBI double, to score five runs in the inning and take control with a 6-2 lead.
• Purdue Northwest answered in the bottom half of the inning as Nathan Koster (Mount Pleasant, Mich./Mount Pleasant) reached base and Owen Winters (Kouts, Ind./Kouts) delivered a triple to right field, driving in a run to cut the deficit to 6-3. The Pride threatened to add more in the inning by loading the bases but were unable to capitalize further.
• Saginaw Valley continued to build its lead in the fifth inning, scoring an unearned run following another defensive miscue to make it 7-3. In the sixth, the Cardinals added another run on a balk, extending the lead to 8-3.
• The Pride created additional opportunities in the fifth and sixth innings, drawing multiple walks and putting runners in scoring position, but were unable to come up with the timely hit to shift momentum.
• Saginaw Valley added insurance in the eighth inning, taking advantage of a hit-by-pitch, a wild pitch, and another defensive error to plate two more runs and push the lead to 10-3.
• Purdue Northwest continued to battle late, putting runners on base in the eighth and ninth innings, but could not mount a comeback as Saginaw Valley closed out the conference-opening victory.

Up Next
The Pride will return to action on Saturday, March 21, as they continue their series against Saginaw Valley State University with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 PM CT.