Purdue Northwest Baseball Drops Series Opener to Wayne State, 12-1
HAMMOND, Ind. – Falling behind 2-0 early following a pair of solo homers in the top of the third inning, the Purdue Northwest baseball team never recovered in a 12-1 loss to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opponent Wayne State University (Mich.) Friday afternoon at Albert’s Diamond Jewelers Field in Dowling Park in Hammond, Ind. The Pride trailed 4-1 after five innings of play, but a six-run sixth inning for the Warriors helped the visitors pull away.
WSU opened up the game’s scoring with two solo shots to right field in the top of the third inning. A two-run single to right centerfield in the top of the fourth extended the lead to 4-0. In the bottom of the fifth, sophomore Hunter Thorn (Portage, Ind./Portage) hit a two-out RBI single up the middle to pull the Pride within three runs, 4-1.
However, five hits and an error helped Wayne State plate six more runs in the top of the sixth inning to push the lead to 10-1. The Warriors added two more in the top of the ninth on a RBI triple down the right field line and another RBI on a groundout to complete the game’s scoring.
PNW finished the game with nine hits with two apiece by junior Austin Kordik (West Chicago, Ill./College of DuPage/Community), sophomore Alex Batistatos (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) and senior Jonny Albers (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo). Senior Jimmy Skiff (Dyer, Ind./Andrean) took the loss (2-2) as the starter for the Pride Friday. He pitched four innings and allowed eight hits, four runs (all earned) and two walks with four strikeouts.
Purdue Northwest (9-11 overall/2-7 GLIAC) continues its conference series with Wayne State on Saturday, April 7, with a doubleheader. The first game of the pair is scheduled for a noon CT start at Dowling Park.