Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Chrissy Davie picked the perfect time to break out of a frustrating slump. The freshman hit a tie-breaking, two-run triple on Tuesday afternoon to help the Purdue softball team (14-9) win its home opener against Notre Dame (13-11) 6-3. The Fighting Irish bounced back in game two of the doubleheader by winning 10-2.
"Chrissy got a big hit for us in the first game," head coach Carol Bruggeman said. "It was great to see her break out of her little slump."
Davie, who led the team in the fall with a .441 batting average, lined a pitch to deep center field to bring home two runs and break a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning. An RBI-single by Jenny Barnett brought Davie across the plate to increase the lead to 6-3 and freshman pitcher Meagan Dooley shut down the Irish in the seventh for her eighth win of the year.
In game two, Notre Dame rebounded with 13 hits and 10 runs, including a four-run third inning and a six-run sixth. Dooley suffered the loss, making her record 8-4 on the year. Irish pitcher Melanie Alkire (2-1) kept the Boilers off-balance, allowing six hits and two runs.
"We're a very good offensive team and we have great team speed, but we need to adjust to pitchers better," Bruggeman said. "In the second game, the pitcher (Alkire) wasn't throwing a lot of strikes, but we were still swinging. We need to be more disciplined at the plate. Hopefully, we can make that adjustment by tomorrow."
In game one, Purdue scored its first three runs in the first inning behind an RBI-double by senior Kristen Billen and an RBI-single by senior Mandy Smart. Freshman Nicole Crouse (6-5) started on the mound, but ran into trouble in the sixth. Dooley entered the game and promptly retired the next two batters to end the Irish threat.
In the second game, Notre Dame used four hits in the first and six in the sixth to score 10 runs. Purdue rallied for two runs in the bottom of the sixth on three doubles by sophomore Skeeter Nixon, senior Denise Szany and Smart.
Purdue will now host Evansville (24-4) for a doubleheader on Wednesday with the first pitch at 2 p.m.
R H ENotre Dame 3 9 1Purdue 6 9 1
Notre Dame 10 13 1Purdue 2 6 2