Softball Sweeps Purdue Northwest - NU Earns No. 4 Seed In GLIAC Tournament

OVERVIEW – PURDUE NORTHWEST

SCORES: Northwood Timberwolves 9, Purdue Northwest Pride 4/Northwood 9, Purdue Northwest 1 (Five Innings)

RECORDS: Northwood 27-24-1, 17-15 GLIAC/Purdue Northwest 23-23, 14-18 GLIAC

LOCATION: Hammond, Ind.

RECAP: Northwood sweeps Purdue Northwest Sunday afternoon (April 28), earning wins by the scores of 9-4 & 9-1. NU earns the No. 4 seed in the upcoming GLIAC Tournament.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Northwood got out fast in the game, scoring four in the top of the first inning. Grace Dutoi got things started with an RBI double.
• Karli Godlewski made it 2-0 with an RBI single, which was followed by a two-run single by Chase Schultz to give the Timberwolves a 4-0 lead.
• The Pride responded, plating one in the first, one in the second and two in the third to tie the game at 4-4.
• Northwood came right back after PNW leveled the score in the third with two in the top of the fourth. Sydney Culps had an RBI double, which was followed by an error by the Pride to make the score 6-4.
• Lauren Castellon made it 7-4 in the fifth with an RBI single.
• Dutoi closed out the scoring in the top of the seventh with a two-run single.
• Taylor Wright made the lead hold up, tossing four shutout innings to finish the game.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors – Northwood: 9/13/1, Purdue Northwest: 4/8/3
• Runners Left on Base – Northwood: 10, Purdue Northwest: 6
• Winning Pitcher – Taylor Wright (7-3): 4 IP, 3 H, 4 K
• Losing Pitcher – Ashley Bravo (3-4): 2 IP, 6 H, 4 R

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Dutoi: 3-3, 2B, 3 RBIs, R
• Godlewski: 2-3, 2B, RBI
• Schultz: 1-3, 2 RBI
• Castellon: 2-4, R, RBI
• Abby Joseph: 2-5, 2B, R

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• For the second straight game, Northwood got off to a big start in the top of the first inning. Dutoi kept her big day going with a two-run homer to centerfield to give the Timberwolves  a 2-0 lead.
• Later in the first, Torriya Gray-Baker made it 3-0 with an RBI single.
• Julia Gross capped the big opening inning with another two-run home run to center field to give the Timberwolves a 5-0 lead after a half inning.
• Dutoi extended the lead in the second with an RBI double that made the score 6-0.
• In the top of the fourth, Northwood pushed the advantage to 9-0 thanks to Culps. Her three-run triple cleared the bases and put the Timberwolves above the run-rule threshold.
• PNW got one run in the bottom of the fifth, but Shayna Frank held the Pride off the board the remainder of the inning to close out the victory.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors – Northwood: 9/9/0, Purdue Northwest: 1/2/0
• Runners Left on Base – Northwood: 3, Purdue Northwest: 1
• Winning Pitcher – Shayna Frank (10-8): 5 IP, 2 H, R, 0 BB, 7 K
• Losing Pitcher – Samantha Burgard (1-2): 5 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 3 BB, K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Dutoi: 2-2, HR, 2 R, 3 RBIs
• Culps: 2-3, 2 2B, 3 RBIs
• Julia Gross: 1-2, HR, 2 RBIs
• Tara Gross: 1-1, 2 BB, 3 R

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Coming into the day, the Timberwolves could have finished anywhere from fourth to seventh in the final regular season GLIAC standings. The two wins allowed Northwood to place fourth.

UP NEXT

• Northwood will compete at the GLIAC Tournament May 3-5 in Sandusky, Ohio. NU will face No. 5 seed Saginaw Valley in the opening round Friday at 10 a.m.