HAMMOND, Ind. – Roosevelt dropped another pair of tough games Monday in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Purdue Northwest in Northwest Indiana.
The Lakers led 5-3 in the opening game of the day before the Pride rallied for five runs in the fifth inning in an 10-5 win. In the back half of the twinbill, Roosevelt (9-22, 0-8 GLIAC) battled back to tie the game in the sixth inning then held leads in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings before being walked off 13-12.
PURDUE NORTHWEST 10, ROOSEVELT 5
The bats were hot to start the Monday doubleheader when Roosevelt scored four runs in the top of the first inning. Maxwell Bowers was hit by the second pitch of the game then stole second before tagging up on a fly ball to centerfield. Alejandro Munoz scored Bowers with an RBI groundout and Tyler Ruete followed by mashing a solo homer.
CJ Chalk continued the two-out rally with an infield single then proceeded to steal second before Andrew Lucas walked. A throwing error from the pitcher moved both runners up 90 feet then a wild pitch on ball four to Kyle Jannenga let Chalk score. Jack Hoh plated Lucas with another infield single before the Pride had their chance to bat.
Purdue Northwest responded with three runs in the bottom of the first as a pair of walks and a hit batter to start the inning cost the Lakers. But Chalk hit a sacrifice fly to score Ian Bagaconza in the second inning after the freshman led off with a single.
Roosevelt maintained its lead until the fifth inning when Purdue Northwest scored five runs on four hits. The Pride added an insurance marker in the sixth to finish out the scoring.
Chalk, Munoz and Ruete each had two hits in the first game to lead the Lakers offense.
PURDUE NORTHWEST 13, ROOSEVELT 12
It was almost the exact opposite feeling in the second game of the day as Purdue Northwest jumped out to the massive lead. Ruete hit a two-out triple in the first inning to score Bagaconza, but the Pride scored five runs in the bottom of the frame. Roosevelt added two in the third to claw back with Ruete and Chalk hit consecutive RBI singles, but the Pride put up one in the third and another run in the fourth to extend the lead back to four.
The game changed dramatically in the sixth as the Roosevelt bats returned to their form from earlier in the day. Quinn O'Bryan hit an RBI single and two batters later, Bagaconza drove in a pair to force a pitching change. Munoz sent a double down the left-field line to tie the game then Ruete followed with a two-run double to left field to give the Lakers a 9-7 lead.
It started a trend of Roosevelt taking a lead in the top of an inning only for Purdue Northwest to respond in the bottom half. The Pride tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, but the Lakers scored twice in the seventh courtesy of an O'Bryan sacrifice fly and Bagaconza double. Although the Pride again tied the game, Hoh followed Jannenga's single in the eighth with a double to reclaim the lead for Roosevelt.
UP NEXT: The Lakers will play their first game at Ozinga Field on Tuesday when Roosevelt hosts Lewis in a non-conference matchup at 3 p.m.
