April 14, 2000
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue softball team battled back from a 17-5 loss in the first game of Friday's doubleheader to split with Big Ten rival Northwestern at the Varsity Softball Complex in West Lafayette. The Boilermakers (26-21 overall, 3-5 Big Ten) defeated the Wildcats (16-17 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) 6-2 in the second game of the double dip to earn the split. Both teams found fielding the ball a tough task on the day, combining for 14 errors in the two games.
In the first game the Boilermakers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first when Katie Crabtree singled to right to bring home Skeeter Nixon from third. The Boilermaker lead would be short lived, as Northwestern put up two runs in the second, one each in the third and fourth and three in the fifth to take a 7-1 lead.
The Boilermakers made it close in the fifth rallying for four runs in the bottom of the inning. Pinch hitter Danica Maher led off the inning with a double to right center. Nixon reached on an error by Wildcat third baseman Robyn Pettinger and was followed by Andrea Roush who singled to the shortstop to load the bases. Crabtree picked up her second RBI of the game with a ground out to short to plate Maher. Heidi Foster stepped up and lined a shot to left field, scoring Nixon, drawing the Boilers closer at 7-3. With runners on the corners and one out, coach Carol Bruggeman replaced Foster at first with pinch runner Jill Paxson. With Jessica Jones at the plate, Paxson stole second to give Purdue runners on second and third and one out. Jones promptly delivered a two-RBI single to left make the score 7-5. The Boilermaker rally ended there as Purdue was unable to draw any closer.
In the seventh the Wildcats blew the game wide open with 10 runs on five hits, including a grand slam by designated player Brooke Seibel. Purdue starter Leighann Burke (8-8) took the loss for Purdue pitching 2.1 innings surrendering three runs on four hits. Offensively Purdue had nine hits with Roush and Foster both finishing 2-for-3. Defensively Purdue committed four errors and Northwestern one.
Down but definitely not out, the Boilers came back to win the second game. Once again Purdue jumped out to an early two-run lead when Nixon led off the top of the first with a single to left. Roush reached base when her attempted sacrifice turned into an error, moving Nixon up to second. The pair advanced to third and second, respectively, on a wild pitch. Northwestern starter Lauren Schwendimann, the winning pitcher in game one, then walked Foster to load the bases and Jones to force Nixon in from third. Chrissy Davie singled in the next at-bat to score Roush and give Purdue a 2-0 lead.
The Boilermakers would see the lead disappear in the second, allowing three runs on two hits and three errors. The score would remain 2-2 until the fifth when the Boilers would score two runs without getting a hit. Crabtree, having reached on a error by the shortstop, was forced out at second on a fielders choice ground ball by Foster. With one out, Foster moved to second when Jones hit a routine ground ball that shortstop Tami Jones fielded and then threw into right field on the attempted force out at second. Schwendimann then hit Davie to load the bases for Angi Roembke. Roembke hit a grounder to the left side that was fielded by the Wildcat infield. Foster, running on contact, beat the throw home on a bang-bang play at the plate to give Purdue a 3-2 lead. Danica Maher added another run on a sac-fly to center, scoring Jones from third.
The Boilers would add two more in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Jones and Davie to lead off the inning. With Davie on second, Roembke singled to the shortstop. After Maher flew out for the first out of the inning, Keely Povlitz hit a grounder to second base. Northwestern's Mikie Chambers fielded to ball and attempted to tag out Roembke advancing to second. As she swiped at freshman, the ball flew out of her glove into right field allowing Davie to score.
Meagan Dooley (9-7) tossed a complete game for Purdue, giving up the two runs unearned. She struck out two while inducing 15 Wildcat groundouts. Davie and Roembke finished the game with four of Purdue's six hits, each going 2-for-3. Davie had two RBI and a run scored. Defensively Purdue finished the game with four errors and Northwestern with five.
The Boilermakers return to action on Saturday when the 13th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes visit the VSC for a 1 p.m. game. The Hawkeyes carry a 17-game win streak into the game, having swept Indiana 6-1 and 4-1 in doubleheader action on Friday.