A big day at the plate for freshman Kevin McCune (Munster, Ind./Andrean) helped the Purdue Northwest baseball team split its final two games with University of Wisconsin-Parkside Sunday afternoon at Albert’s Diamond Jewelers Field at Dowling Park in Hammond, Ind. The Pride dropped the first game, 9-4, but came on strong in game two for the 11-3 win. McCune went a combined 4-for-8 with a homer, three runs scored and six RBI.
The visiting Rangers got on the scoreboard early scoring a run on a wild pitch in the top of the first inning. A two-run homer to left field by McCune in the bottom half of the inning put PNW in front, 2-1; but UWP tied the game in the top of the second on a sacrifice bunt. Wisconsin-Parkside went up 4-2 in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly and a RBI single. Junior Larry Crisler (Gary, Ind./Snead State CC/Bishop Noll) drove in a run for the Pride in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly to pull the hosts within a run, 4-3.
However, the Rangers scored five runs in the top of the sixth off an error, a two-run triple and a wild pitch to extend their lead to 9-3. A solo homer to left field by sophomore Alex Batistatos (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) in the bottom of the sixth was the only run that PNW would score the rest of the game. Junior Kyle Flessner (Thomasboro, Ill./Rantoul Township) suffered the loss (0-1) in game one as the starter for Purdue Northwest. He pitched three innings and allowed two hits, four runs (three earned) and five walks with a strikeout.
Things did not look good for the Pride early in game two as UWP scored three runs in the top of the first inning behind a pair of RBI singles and a wild pitch. However, a RBI single by Crisler and a RBI on a groundout by junior Evan Finke (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North) brought PNW to within a run, 3-2, in the bottom of the third inning. An RBI double by senior Jonny Albers (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) and a two-run single by McCune in the fourth inning helped Purdue Northwest add four more runs and take the lead for good, 6-3.
Batistatos drove in two runs on a single up the middle in the seventh inning and McCune brought another pair across home plate in the eighth on a single to right field to push the lead to 10-3. Freshman John Cory (Lowell, Ind./Lowell) notched the game’s final RBI by drawing a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth. Freshman Kyle Freel (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) earned his first collegiate win (1-0) Sunday in game two for the Pride. He threw the first five frames and gave up just five hits, three runs (all earned) and a walk with four strikeouts. Senior Fabian Del Real (Calumet City, Ill./Sauk Valley CC/TF-North) threw the final two innings of the nine-inning game for PNW allowing no hits, runs or walks with four strikeouts.
Purdue Northwest (3-1 overall) returns to action on Sunday, March 11, with a nine-inning road game against Florida Memorial University. The game begins at 2 p.m. CT at Harry T. Moore Baseball Field in Miami Gardens, Fla.
