Softball Sweeps Doubleheader Versus Purdue Northwest

OVERVIEW – PURDUE NORTHWEST

SCORES: Northwood Timberwolves 9, Purdue Northwest Pride 8/Northwood 5, Purdue Northwest 3

RECORDS: Northwood 17-14 (5-9 GLIAC), Purdue Northwest 18-17 (8-10 GLIAC)

LOCATION: Fisher Stadium – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood swept their second GLIAC doubleheader Wednesday (April 14), came out on top in a slugfest in game one 9-8 before holding on for a 5-3 victory in the nightcap.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Purdue Northwest drew first blood in the opening inning. The Pride posted 3 hits, including a one-out double down the right field line to make it 1-0. A sacrifice fly later in the inning extended the lead to 2-0 going into the bottom of the first.
• The Timberwolves would strike back quickly with the bats. Capitalizing on a lead-off double by Tara Gross, Torriya Gray-Baker cracked an RBI double of her own off the left-field wall to cut the lead in half. Sydni Pauley followed with a single up the middle to tie the game at two, and Sydni Culps broke the tie with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-2 after the first.
• The Pride knotted the game back up at 3 in the top of the third thanks to a line drive solo shot over the right-field wall.
• The Timberwolves played small ball to retake the lead in the third. Julia Gross's sacrifice bunt moved Sydni Pauley to second, and Sydni Culps capitalized with an RBI single down the left field line to make it 4-3. Lauren Castellon added to the edge with a base hit to right field that scored Mariah Hood to give Northwood a two-run lead after three innings of play.
• In a game of back-and-forth, PNW broke through in the ensuing inning. A slow rolling single up the middle with 2 outs tied the game back up at 5 halfway through the fourth.
• An inning after manufacturing runs, the Timberwolves played long ball to regain and build the lead. First, it was Pauley smoking a two-run homer to center to get the two-run lead back. Two batters later, Culps knocked in her third and fourth runs of the day with a two-run bomb of her own to left-center field to make 9-5 after four.
• It naturally didn't take long for the Pride to cut into the lead. An RBI double to left-center cut the lead to three in the top of the inning.
• Purdue Northwest continued to trim the NU lead down in the sixth. A two-out, two-run homer to left to make it a one-run game heading into their last at-bats. However, Northwood was able to hold off the Pride and that is as close as the visitors would get to a tie.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors – Northwood: 9/16/2, Purdue Northwest: 8/13/1
• Runners Left on Base – Northwood: 10, Purdue Northwest: 7
• Winning Pitcher – Makenzie Norton (2-2): 3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R (3 ER), 2 K, 1 BB
• Losing Pitcher – Mia Stevens (7-4): 3 IP, 9 H, 9 6 R (6 ER), 0 K, 1 BB

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• S. Culps: 3-4, 1 HR (2), 1 R, 4 RBIs
• S. Pauley: 4-4, HR (5), 2 R, 3 RBI
• T. Gray-Baker: 2-4, 2B, 1 RBI, R
• T. Gross: 2-5, 2B, 1 R
• L. Castellon: 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Sydni Pauley collected her first four-hit game of the season after six previous multi-hit performances on the year.

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• The Timberwolves struck first in the nightcap in the bottom of the opening inning. Tara Gross lead off the inning with a double, Maddie Coulter dropped down a bunt, and Sydni Pauley drove in a pair of runs with a two-out RBI single to make it 2-0.
• It didn't take long for Northwood to extend the lead. Meghan Franz advanced Mariah Hood to second on a bunt, and Karli Godlewski singled, allowing Hood to score on an error. Coulter followed with a two-out RBI single to make it 4-0 by the end of the frame.
• Aftter two consecutive scoreless innings, the Timberwolves went back to work with the bats in the fifth. Torriya Gray-Baker doubled to lead off the inning, and Julia Gross plated her with a fielder's choice RBI to make the spread 5-0.
• Purdue Northwest ruined the shutout bid in the top half of the seventh. A lead-off solo home run to center gave the Pride some life, and a two-out, two-run single made it a 5-3 contest. With the tying runs on base, Julia Gross caught a sinking line drive to end the game and preserve the victory for Northwood.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors – Northwood: 5/7/1, Purdue Northwest: 3/7/3
• Runners Left on Base – Northwood: 6, Purdue Northwest: 7
• Winning Pitcher – Marissa Tiano (1-2): 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R (3 ER), 2 K, 4 BB
• Losing Pitcher – Samantha Burgard (4-5): 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R (3 ER), 3 K, 3 BB
• Save – Makenzie Norton (1): 1 IP, 2H, 0 R (0 ER)

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• S. Pauley: 2-3, 1 RBI
• T. Gray-Baker: 1-2, 2B, 2 R, 1 BB
• K. Godlewski: 1-3, 1 R

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• The six innings Marissa Tiano pitched was the longest start of her career.

UP NEXT

• Northwood will host Davenport on Saturday (April 14) for a doubleheader against the Panthers. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.