Thorn Shines; Purdue Northwest Baseball Loses Series Opener to Tiffin, 7-0
TIFFIN, Ohio – Sophomore Hunter Thorn (Portage, Ind./Portage) racked up three of Purdue Northwest’s five hits on the day, but it was not enough in a 7-0 road loss to Tiffin University (Ohio) in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) baseball series opener Friday at Heminger Field in Tiffin, Ohio. The Dragons did all of their offensive damage in the late innings scoring three runs in both the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings before adding their final run in the eighth.
Freshman Brandon Haczynski (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) got the start on the mound for PNW Friday and had an impressive outing. He threw the first five frames and allowed just four hits, no runs and two walks with five strikeouts. Freshman Justin Walter (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Memorial) suffered the loss (0-1) in relief pitching the final three innings and giving up five hits, seven runs (five earned) and four walks with three strikeouts. Senior Jonny Albers (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) and sophomore Alex Batistatos (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) recorded PNW’s other two hits, both singles.
Tiffin kicked off its scoring in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run homer to right centerfield to take a 2-0 lead. The Dragons added a third run later in the frame off a wild pitch. The Pride could not answer in the top of the seventh loading the bases on two walks and an infield error, but could not record the timely hit to get on the scoreboard. TU posted three more runs in the bottom half of the seventh off a RBI single and a two-run single. Tiffin scored its final run of the game in the eighth inning on a sacrifice.
Purdue Northwest (17-19 overall/7-13 GLIAC) continues its conference series with Tiffin on Saturday, April 28, with a doubleheader. The first game is scheduled for a noon CT start at Heminger Field in the Paradiso Athletic Complex in Tiffin, Ohio.