Purdue Northwest Softball Sweeps Saginaw Valley State

Purdue Northwest Softball Sweeps Saginaw Valley State 

University Center, Mich. – Scoring a combined 15 runs and racking up 20 total hits on the day, the Purdue Northwest softball team swept a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road doubleheader from Saginaw Valley State University (Mich.) Monday afternoon at the SVSU Softball Complex in University Center, Mich.  The Pride won the first game of the make-up doubleheader, 8-4, and then rallied back to win the second game, 7-3.

Junior Zoee Anderson (Lafayette, Ind./St. Joseph’s College/Lafayette Jefferson) got PNW on the scoreboard first in game one hitting a RBI single down the left field line in the top of the second inning to put the Pride up, 1-0.  The Cardinals tied the game in the bottom half of the second with a sacrifice fly, but sophomore Emma Hendricks (Henryville, Ill./Henryville) came up big in the top of the third putting Purdue Northwest back in front with a two-run double down the left field line and later scoring on a wild pitch to make the score, 4-1.  SVSU added a run in the bottom of the third on a RBI single, but PNW got the run right back in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Taylor Mendenhall (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg).    

Leading 5-2 after four full innings of play, the Pride pulled away in the top of the fifth scoring three more runs off a RBI groundout, a RBI on a fielder’s choice and one off a fielding error.  A run off an error in the bottom of the fifth and another one on a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth completed the scoring in game one.  Freshman Courtney Blackwell (Whiting, Ind./Whiting) earned the victory (7-7) in the circle for PNW in game one.  She pitched all seven frames and allowed seven hits, four runs (three earned) and four walks with four strikeouts.

A sacrifice fly by the Cardinals in the bottom of the second inning of game two put the hosts up early, 1-0.  Senior Kyleigh Payne (Bourbonnais, Ill./Kankakee CC/Bishop McNamara) tied the game in the top of the third with a solo home run to left centerfield.  SVSU took advantage of an error in the bottom of the third inning to score a pair of runs and take a 3-1 edge.  Junior Taylor Kotzo (Munster, Ind./Munster) tied the game in the top of the fifth with a two-run double to left field and junior Shailen Johnson (Lafayette, Ind./Danville Area CC/Harrison) added a two-run single up the middle in the next at-bat to put the Pride in front for good.   

Johnson added some late insurance in the top of the seventh crushing a two-run homer to centerfield to make the score, 7-3.  Freshman Samantha Burgard (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South) claimed the win (7-5) as the game two starter for PNW.  She pitched all seven innings and gave up six hits, three runs (two earned) and two walks with two strikeouts. 

Purdue Northwest (24-19 overall/14-12 GLIAC) heads to Grand Rapids, Mich., on Friday, April 27, for a conference doubleheader against Davenport University.  The first game of the pair is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. CT start at the Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex in Grand Rapids.