Grayslake, IL - The Parkside Rangers swept the Saturday twin bill against the Purdue Northwest Pride. In game one, the Rangers received a dominant performance from Kaleb Schulist, who tossed a complete-game shutout en route to a 4-0 victory. In the second game, the Rangers outlasted the Pride with a 10th inning walk-off win. Freshman John Wubben was the hero, securing a 14-13 win. This marked the first-ever GLIAC regular-season series victory for Parkside since they joined the conference in 2019. Additionally, it was Senior Day where Parkside honored Charlie Campbell, Emanuel Andujar Ferreira, Jared Heinzen, Andrew Harris, Andrew Sumner, Kaleb Schulist, Sean Sodaro, and Peter Fusek.
Â
GAME ONE
On senior day, it was the seniors who shined the brightest in game one, from Kaleb Schulist on the mound to Emanuel Andujar Ferreira and Jared Heinzen at the dish. The Rangers shut the Pride out and earned their third straight win.
After a scoreless top of the first with Schulist on the mound, the Rangers struck early. After Peter Fusek got aboard to start the game, Emanuel Andujar Ferreira cashed in. The senior, Andujar, smashed a home run over the right-center field fence to propel the Rangers ahead, 2-0.
In the very next inning, the Rangers got right back to work. Senior Jared Heinzen jumped on a fastball and ripped it over the center-field fence to boost Parkside ahead 3-0. It was Heinzen's fourth long ball of the spring.
The very next batter, Joe Hoeks, also got a hold of a baseball. Hoeks clubbed a 3-2 fastball over the left-center field wall, and the Rangers were up 4-0 in the blink of an eye.
For Kaleb Schulist, that was all he needed. Schulist went all seven innings, allowing just five hits, three walks, and striking out five Pride hitters. It was the first-ever complete-game shutout for Schulist in his collegiate career. He improved to 5-2 this season, bringing Parkside to 19-22 overall.
Â
GAME TWO
In the chaotic game two with 27 runs scored, the Rangers walked off the Pride in 10 innings. There were six total lead changes, five home runs, and the game took over 3.5 hours to decide a winner.
The scoring began in the second inning, as once again the Rangers were ready to roll from the get-go. Joe Hoeks got them on the board, scoring Carter Storti on a sacrifice fly. Owen Brock followed with an opposite-field RBI base hit. The big second-inning swing came from Angel Rades. Rades came just a few feet away from his first career home run. He ripped one off the right-center field fence, scoring two runs, and Rades legged out a triple. Once again, the Rangers were out to a 4-0 lead.
Parker Swanson got the start on the mound for the Rangers. Swanson rolled through the first four innings, holding the Pride off the board. Swanson induced a pair of inning-ending 6-4-3 double plays. However, the fifth inning was the end of the road for Swanson. He was forced out of the game midway through a seven-run fifth inning. The Pride took the lead at the halfway point of the game with a monster inning.
The theme in this game was Parkside's ability to never say die. In the bottom half of the fifth inning, Camden Kearney sparked a Rangers rally. He led the inning off with a long home run over the right-center field fence. Kearney, who finished with two hits in the game, continued his hot streak with his second home run of the year. His long ball made it a two-run game, 7-5.
The inning was far from over as the Rangers kept their foot on the gas. After Owen Brock reached, Koto Sato had his first significant moment of the game. Sato, who was hitless in the series, ripped a game-tying two-run bomb over the left-field fence.
The bottom of the fifth was still not done. With runners on first and second for Emanuel Andujar Ferreira, he came through with the go-ahead hit. Andujar hit a bloop double down the left-field line, scoring Angel Rades to give Parkside the lead right back. The fifth inning featured a combined eleven runs between the two teams, and the score favored Parkside, 8-7.
In the sixth inning, Koto Sato struck again. Sato absolutely crushed his second two-run shot of the game deep over the left-field fence. Sato stopped, stared, and took the trot around the bases. He now has a team-leading six home runs in this year's campaign. Sato boosted the Rangers even further ahead of the Pride; it was 10-7 heading to the seventh inning.
Even when hope looked lost, the Pride proved that they were never out of this game. In the seventh inning, they scored four more runs to take an 11-10 lead. Owen Winters smacked a go-ahead three-run shot over the left-field fence, and the Pride stole the game's momentum right back.
In the eighth inning, the Rangers once again came through with a solution. After Camden Kearney and Joe Hoeks reached base, Owen Brock had the swing of his season. Brock put the barrel on a fastball, turned it around, and smoked it over the left-field fence. The towering, majestic, go-ahead three-run blast gave Parkside a 13-11 lead.
The Rangers turned to Leo Berger in the ninth to save the game. Berger was going for his sixth save of the season and his second of the series. However, Berger surrendered a pair of unearned runs, and the Pride once again had tied the game. The Pride just refused to quit. They held the Rangers off the board in the bottom of the ninth, and the game was knotted at 13 heading to extra innings.
Berger was dominant in the top of the tenth, striking out two hitters in the process. In the bottom half of the tenth, the Rangers were ready to say "Ballgame." Brock led the inning off and was hit by the pitch to get aboard and represent the winning run. A few hitters later, freshman John Wubben stepped up and came through one last time. Wubben smacked a base hit into left field, Brock scored from second base, and the Rangers walked the Pride off, 14-13 in 10 innings.
Â
John Wubben put the cherry on top of a three-hit game with his first career walk-off hit. He entered the game with just two hits in the season combined and walked away from the game as a hero. Berger got the win on the mound, and the Rangers clinched their first-ever GLIAC regular-season series. They have now won four straight and will look for a four-game sweep over the Pride. They are 20-22 and 9-16 in GLIAC play, standing alone in fifth place. This is the program's first 20-win season since 2006.
Â
NEXT
Parkside and Purdue Northwest will play in the series finale tomorrow in Hammond, Indiana. First pitch is slated for 1:00 pm. For coverage of the event, visit ParksideRangers.com/coverage.
