SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Purdue softball team lost in their first game to the Oregon Ducks, 2-1, but defeated the Long Beach State 49ers, 2-1, in the second game. The Boilermakers move to 14-5-1 on the year and will play again at 6 p.m. PST against the loser of Arizona State vs. Iowa.
"Today we have played really well," said Purdue head coach Carol Bruggeman. "We lost a close heartbreaker this morning, but this afternoon, we showed a lot of heart and pulled out the win. They were good games and a great win for us, as both Oregon and Long Beach State are two of the top teams in the country."
In their first game, the Boilermakers started out slightly slow, as they allowed both runs on two errors in the first inning. But the Old Gold and Black never gave up and slowly but surely came back to finish the game with good defense, allowing only two more hits the entire game.
The Boilermakers' lone run came in the top of the third inning when sophomore Angi Roembke singled and then advanced to second on a fielder's choice hit by freshman Holly Streed. Junior Katie Crabtree then stepped to the plate and hit a single to deep center field, advancing to second on the throw home to try and catch Roembke, who scored.
Purdue attempted a comeback in the top of the sixth inning with two outs, as sophomore Jesse Jones was walked and sophomore Briana Hensley pinch ran. Sophomore Heidi Foster came up with a big single to center field, moving Hensley to third. Then on a wild pitch, both advanced a base, giving Purdue a second and third advantage as freshman Sara Hall stepped to the plate. But the Boilermakers would leave both runners on as Hall hit a deep fly ball to center field that was snagged by Oregon.
The seventh inning also brought hopes to the Purdue fans as sophomore Andrea Roush started off the inning with a single and then advanced to second on a throwing error by the left fielder. Roembke stepped to the plate to take the sacrifice bunt and got it down just right, advancing Roush to third. Freshman Nicole Austin then took the fielder's choice, hit to short, as Oregon chose the throw home to take out Roush for the second out. Freshman Holly Streed then hit a fly to center field to end the game.
On the mound, sophomore Leighann Burke took the loss for Purdue, pitching a complete six innings and allowing three hits and two unearned runs. She walked three and struck out six, facing 23 total batters.
In the Long Beach State game, the Boilermakers came back with a new fire as they tallied two hits in the first inning.
Then in the third inning, Purdue started its scoring drive, again, with two outs on the board as senior Lynne Tortorelli was able to drive the ball down the third base line for a triple and then score on a wild pitch by Long Beach State. Jones then singled to left field, but was left on base as Foster grounded out to the shortstop to end the inning.
The Boilermakers finished off the 49ers in the sixth inning, as they tallied one run on two hits and a Long Beach State error. Hall started the Old Gold and Black attack as she reached first on an error by the shortstop. Then freshman Angela Knight pinch ran for Hall and advanced to second as Roush hit up the middle for a single. Roembke then stepped to the plate and hit a sacrifice slap to advance both runners, placing them on second and third. Then senior Keely Povlitz sailed a single over the infield, advancing to second on the throw home to take out Roush for the third out. But, Boilermaker Angela Knight had already scored, giving Purdue the 2-0 advantage.
For the 49ers, their only score came in the bottom of the seventh as their first batter of the inning singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, tagged to go to third on a fly and then scored on a single by the fourth batter.
The Boilermakers will take on the winner of the Arizona State vs. Iowa game at 6 p.m. PST.
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