The Pride baseball team took on Grand Valley State University this Saturday in a GLIAC Doubleheader where the Pride would fall in game one 11-5, before dropping game two 5-2.

The Basics

• Records: Purdue Northwest (7-15), Grand Valley State (23-4)
• Location: Allendale, Michigan
• GLIAC conference game.

The Breakdown
Game 1: L (11-5) - 7 Innings

• Owen Winters (Kouts, Ind./Kouts) led the Pride offensively with a 2-for-3 performance, while Zach Wright (Munster, Ind./Munster) added a triple and an RBI.
• Joey Guiliano (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) recorded a hit and an RBI, and Drew Kosteba (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) highlighted the inning with a two-run home run.
• Gabe Bush (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) and Derek Kubek (Oswego, Ill./Oswego East) each added extra-base hits as the Pride finished with eight hits.
• Mitchell Stanton (South Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic) got the start on the mound, allowing 10 runs (five earned) over 2.2 innings. Dylan McGee (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) followed with 3.1 innings of relief, allowing one run while helping stabilize the game.
• Grand Valley State broke the game open early with a seven-run second inning, capitalizing on multiple hits and defensive miscues to take control. The Lakers added three more runs in the third inning to extend the lead to 10-0.
• Purdue Northwest responded in the third inning, scoring a run on an error to get on the board. The Pride continued to battle in the fifth inning, stringing together four runs highlighted by Wright's RBI triple, Guiliano's RBI single, and Kosteba's two-run home run to cut the deficit to 10-5.
• Grand Valley State answered with a solo home run in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 11-5.
• Despite opportunities late, the Pride were unable to chip away further as Grand Valley State closed out the game.

The Breakdown
Game 2: L (5-2) – 9 Innings

• Zach Wright (Munster, Ind./Munster) led the Pride with a 2-for-4 performance, including a double, while Drew Kosteba (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) added two hits and scored a run.
• Brett Bounds (Morris, Ill./Morris Community) and Nathan Koster (Mount Pleasant, Mich./Mount Pleasant) each contributed a hit as the Pride totaled seven hits.
• Colin Pfeifer (Morris, Ill./Morris Community) got the start on the mound, allowing four runs over 5.2 innings while striking out five. Ivan Balboa (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) followed in relief, allowing one run, and Jacob Chajet (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel Catholic) added a scoreless outing to close the game.
• Purdue Northwest struck first in the second inning, capitalizing on defensive miscues to plate two runs and take an early lead.
• Grand Valley State responded in the fourth inning with a four-run frame, highlighted by a two-RBI single and a two-run home run to take a 4-2 lead.
• The Lakers added an insurance run in the seventh inning with a solo home run to extend the lead to 5-2.
• The Pride threatened in the later innings, putting runners on base and creating scoring opportunities, but were unable to find the timely hit to close the gap.
• Grand Valley State held off the late push to secure the 5-2 win and complete the doubleheader sweep.

Up Next
The Pride will return to action on Sunday, March 29, as they conclude their series against Grand Valley State University with a final game at 11:00 AM CT.