The Purdue University Calumet baseball team picked up its first program victory over rival Purdue North Central before dropping the second game of a league doubleheader Saturday at Dowling Park.
The Peregrines (11-5, 4-5 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference) defeated the Panthers (11-11, 7-4) 4-1 in Game 1 before dropping Game 2, 3-1.
Purdue Calumet returns to action Sunday to finish the CCAC series at PNC in Westville, Ind., with a noon nine-inning contest at Hicks Field.
GAME 1: Purdue Calumet 4, Purdue North Central 1
Freshman Willie Bennett (Santee, Calif./West Hills) picked up his first victory of the season and senior John Livingston (Highland, Ind./Highland) came up with the big hit to give the Peregrines the lead in a crucial Game 1 win.
Bennett (1-1) scattered six hits and held the Panthers scoreless while striking out one in 5.2 innings pitched. Sophomore Aurelio Cazares (Hammond, Ind./Morton) captured his first save of the season, allowing three this and striking out four in the final 1.1 innings.
With the bases loaded in the fourth, Livingston connected on a two-RBI single to left center to break a scoreless tie and put the Peregrines up, 2-0. Senior Micah Rooke (Robertsdale, Ind./Clark) walked to start the inning and junior Cody Dykema (Crown Point, Ind./Lake Central) singled before senior Anthony Colosimo (Lake Forest, Ind./Loyola) reached on a fielder’s choice to set the table for Livingston.
The Peregrines added one more in the fifth on a Colosimo RBI-double to right center to score Dykema, who walked, and another in the sixth on Eric Sickles’ (Benicia, Calif./Benicia) single through the left side.
The Panthers didn’t score until the top of the seventh, when they put together three straight two-out singles, the last by Trevor Williams that scored Cody Haver, who started the rally with a single. But Cazares struck out the final PNC batter in the inning to preserve the victory.
The Peregrines finished with five hits in Game 1, as Sickles, Dykema, Colosimo, Livngston, and Tom Gaede (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South) all connected for the Peregrines.
GAME 2: Purdue North Central 3, Purdue Calumet 1
The Peregrines were limited to six hits and Purdue North Central held on to an early lead to steal the nightcap win.
Trailing 3-0, Purdue Calumet mustered a run in the sixth when Cody Dykema singled up the middle to score Micah Rooke, who reached on an error and advanced to third on a passed ball.
Purdue North Central struck first in the game with one run in the third on a Willis RBI double and added two more scores in the fifth when Williams singled with runners on second and third.
Colosimo finished 2-for-4 to lead the Peregrines at the plate while freshman Jimmy Skiff (Dyer, Ind./Andrean) took the loss, giving up just two hits and one earned run while striking out three in 4.0 innings of work.