April 10, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Not so fast. That's the attitude the Purdue softball team (22-16, 3-4 Big Ten) took against Michigan State (26-13, 2-2) on Saturday afternoon. After Purdue won the first game 2-0, the Spartans came back in game two and seemed well on their way to salvaging a split on the day. However, the Boilers didn't think the 4-0 Spartan lead was so comfortable and they showed it by rallying with five runs in the last two innings for a 5-4 victory. The final game of the three-game set will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. EST.
"That was awesome. It was a total team effort," Purdue head coach Carol Bruggeman said. "We got the hits when we needed them and Crystal (Inman) did a great job in relief."
The biggest hit came from senior Kristie Boland, who hit a bases-loaded double off the center field wall to bring home the tying and winning runs in game two. Purdue started the inning with three straight hits by Jenny Barnett, Keely Povlitz and Sam Mercier. After a pop-up and an error, Boland came to the plate and delivered the final blow.
"Everybody stepped up when we needed to and Bo(land) got the big hit," Barnett said. "We had a lot of heart today and dug deep when we were down 4-0."
Purdue started the comeback in the bottom of the sixth, when Boland singled home Skeeter Nixon. Two batters later, fellow senior Mandy Smart singled to center to bring home pinch-runner Joy Ishida. Meanwhile, on the mound, junior Crystal Inman (1-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings of perfect relief to hold the score at 4-2. In the sixth, she stranded Michigan State runners on second and third.
"That was exciting, I finally got a 'W'," Inman said of her first victory of the year.
Both Boland and Inman saw their first substantial playing time of the Big Ten season. Boland has been hampered by chronic back trouble and Inman has recovered from a stress fracture in her ribs.
In game one, two freshman stole the show. Pitcher Nicole Crouse (10-8) earned the complete-game shutout, limiting MSU to three hits with three strikeouts. At the plate, Katie Crabtree was 3-for-3, all singles, with an RBI and a stolen base. The victory by Purdue ended Michigan State's 10-game winning streak and handed Spartan pitcher Erica Strutz (18-8) her first loss in nine outings.
"We've battled in all of our Big Ten games," Barnett said. "We've worked really hard in practice and now we're coming back after some tough losses."
R H EPurdue 2 5 0Michigan State 0 3 1
Michigan State 4 9 2Purdue 5 8 1