Purdue Calumet Opens 2015 With Two-Game Sweep Over St. Ambrose

PUC-PeregrinsThe Purdue University Calumet baseball team started its season off in impressive fashion, sweeping St. Ambrose University in a doubleheader Sunday afternoon in Frostproof, Fla.

The Peregrines (2-0) return to action in the Russ Mat Invitational Monday when they face William Penn University (Iowa) in a doubleheader beginning at 1:30 p.m. in Winter Haven, Fla.

Game One – Purdue Calumet 8, St. Ambrose 1
The Black and Gold jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first thanks to a sac fly by Cody Dykema (Schereville, Ind./Lake Central), plating Eric Sickles (Benicia, Calif./Benicia) for the first run of the Peregrines season.

St. Ambrose would string some hits together in the top half of the second to tie the game at 1-1, but that is all the Fighting Bees would score thanks to the lights out performance by the Peregrines’ starting pitcher, senior Phil Madvek (Hobart, Ind./Hobart).

Sophomore CJ Gear (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) started a four-run second inning off with a double down the right-field line followed by a single up the middle by John Cristo (Munster, Ind./Munster), which scored Gear to give back the lead to the Peregrines, 2-1.

After a throwing miscue by St. Ambrose let Cristo score after a Brandon Propes (Lake Village, Ind./North Newton) double to left center, Sickles would keep the inning alive with a two-RBI single to give the Black and Gold a 5-1 lead heading in to the third.

Purdue Calumet would tack on three more runs late in the game to increase the run support for Madvek, who gave up just one run in six innings of work and recorded five strikeouts in his first win of the season.

Senior Justin Stowe (Highland, Ind./Hammond Baptist) took the mound in the seventh inning to close things out for the Peregrines, striking out one batter en route to the Peregrines first victory of the season.

The Peregrines finished with 12 hits, led by Sickles who went 3-of-4 with three RBI and Cole Garcia (Anaheim Hills, Calif./Canyon) who finished 2-of-3 from the plate with two runs and one RBI.

Game Two – Purdue Calumet 3, St. Ambrose 2
Both teams struggled to score early on in the game, until St. Ambrose would break open the scoreboard in the bottom half of the fourth inning after Brinn Bell and Brock Daniels would each score to give the Fighting Bees a 2-0 lead.

John Cristo would score on a St. Ambrose error in the fifth inning to cut the Fighting Bees lead to 2-1.

With two outs in the top half of the sixth inning, Peregrines’ senior Anthony Colosimo (Lake Forest, Ill./Loyola Academy) came up with a clutch RBI double to plate freshman teammate Avery Lochow (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport), who pinch ran after John Livingston (Highland, Ind./Highland) led off the inning with a single, tying the score, 2-2.

The Peregrines would continue to capitalize on St. Ambrose’s errors, keeping the seventh inning alive for Cole Garcia to knock in the go-ahead run in the top half of the seventh inning.

Senior Anthony Spangler (Lansing, Ill./T.F. South) would shut the Fighting Bees down in the bottom of the seventh to seal up the second-straight victory for the Black and Gold.

Freshman Jimmy Skiff (Dyer, Ind./Andrean) started on the mound for the Peregrines, throwing five strong innings of work, giving up just two runs on five hits and striking out four batters.