JOLIET, Ill. — The Purdue University Northwest softball team dropped a pair of games at No. 12 St. Francis (Ill.) Saturday, falling by scores of 5-0 and 8-0 at Harlow Lockwood Field.
The Pride (21-20-1, 11-9 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference) have a quick turnaround, as PNW is set to travel to Terre Haute, Ind., to take on the St. Mary-of-the-Woods Pomeroys in a pair of nonleague games Sunday starting at noon CT.
The Fighting Saints (34-4, 18-2) pushed their win streak to eight with Saturday’s two victories.
GAME 1: USF 3, PNW 0Â
USF got on the board early in the first inning with a Ally Balandis solo home run and Fighting Saint’s starter Morghan Dieringer (17-3) held the Pride to just four hits in the Game 1 shutout.
USF added runs in the third and sixth innings to take a 3-0 lead before PNW made a run in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with two outs. But Dieringer was able to strike out the final Pride batter to end the threat, as the USF starter finished with 15 Ks and didn’t allow an extra-base hit.
Taylor Kotzo (Munster, Ind./Munster), Tessa Steffens (Litchfield, Ill./Litchfield), Alex Morales (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) and Allyson Leach (Demotte, Ind./North Newton) tallied singles for PNW and starter Holly Pagan (Bartlett, Ill/Bartlett) took the loss in the circle, striking out one and allowing three hits and two earned runs in three innings pitched.
GAME 2: USF 8, PNW 0 (5 innings)Â
USF jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings and then poured in five runs in the third to take a commanding lead it would not give up in the nightcap.
Game 2 starter Taylor Barsz remained a perfect 11-0 on the year with her three-hit shutout, striking out two in the five-inning stint and didn’t allow an extra-base hit.
Taylor Kotzo, Holly Pagan, and Samantha Oppenhuis (Munster, Ind./Iliana Christian) had hits for PNW while starter Caroline Brown (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) took the loss in the circle. USF exploded for nine hits – including two doubles by Brooke Karraker – in the second game.
