April 14, 1999
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Purdue softball team (24-16, 5-4 Big Ten) extended its brief winning streak to four games on Tuesday afternoon by beating Ohio State (12-22, 1-9) in both games of a doubleheader 7-0 and 16-2. The Boilers pounded out a total of 30 hits, including 18 in the second game.
"It was an awesome offensive output by the whole team," head coach Carol Bruggeman said. "In the second game, we had 18 hits in four innings."
In the first game, freshman pitcher Nicole Crouse (11-8) recorded her second straight shutout, allowing four hits in the complete-game victory. Purdue led 1-0 in the fourth inning, when sophomore Keely Povlitz hit a two-run double over the center fielder to extend the margin to three runs. Purdue tacked on four more in the seventh for the final score of 7-0.
In game two, Purdue scored seven runs on seven hits in both the first and third innings. Freshman pitcher Meagan Dooley improved her record to 12-7 on the year.
Offensively, Purdue was led by senior Denise Szany who was 6-for-7 on the day. Fellow senior Kristin Billen also hit the ball well, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run in both games. Other bright spots included senior Mandy Smart who had five RBI and freshman Katie Crabtree who had four hits and four RBI on the day.
Ohio State has suffered from season-ending injuries to two of its top three pitchers. On Tuesday, the Buckeyes' number-two starter was not in action due to a stress fracture in her rib cage.
By starting at second base in game one, senior Sam Mercier broke Purdue's all-time record for games played with 219. The San Clemente, Calif., native also recently broke the all-time hit record. In her final at-bat at Michigan State, Mercier singled to left center for career-hit number 235, surpassing '98 senior Jenny Schoen.
Purdue will now return home for a three-game series on April 17-18 against Wisconsin. The first pitch will be thrown out on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Varsity Softball Complex.
R H EPurdue 7 12 0Ohio State 0 4 2
Ohio State 2 5 2Purdue 16 18 2