Thorn Tough; Purdue Northwest Baseball Falls to Lewis, 13-3
Romeoville, Ill. – Despite a pair of RBI for sophomore Hunter Thorn (Portage, Ind./Portage), the Purdue Northwest baseball team struggled Thursday afternoon in a tough 13-3 road loss to Lewis University (Ill.) at Brennan Field in Romeoville, Ill. The Flyers took control of the non-conference game early scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a quick 10-0 lead. The game was scheduled for nine innings, but was called after the top of the seventh due to the mercy rule.
Lewis racked up eight hits and took advantage of two PNW errors in the bottom of the first inning to help build its big lead. The Flyers scored another run in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly to go up, 11-0. Thorn hit a RBI single to left field in the top of the fifth to put the Pride on the scoreboard. LU got a two-run homer to right field in the bottom of the sixth to extend its lead to 13-1. Senior Mike Mikulich (Hebron, Ind./Hebron) scored on a wild pitch and Thorn drove in another run on a groundout in the top of the seventh to complete the scoring.
Senior Fabian Del Real (Calumet City, Ill./Sauk Valley CC/TF-North) suffered the loss (0-1) as the starter on the mound for the Pride. He pitched one inning and allowed eight hits, 10 runs (six earned) and a walk. Freshman Trevor George (Fishers, Ind./Guerin Catholic) threw four innings of solid relief in his collegiate debut. He gave up just two hits, one run (earned) and a walk. Sophomore Caden Bell (Hammond, Ind./HAST) threw the final two frames and allowed two hits, two runs (both earned) and no walks with a strikeout.
Purdue Northwest (14-15 overall/6-9 GLIAC) heads to Ashland, Ohio, this weekend for a four-game conference series against the Ashland University Eagles. The series opens on Friday, April 20, with a nine-inning game at 3 p.m. CT.
