March 21, 2001
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - It was the day of home runs for the Purdue softball team, as the Boilermakers swept their home-opening doubleheader against Valparaiso, 3-0 and 2-0. The Old Gold and Black improved its record to 20-8-1, while the Crusaders fell to 2-10.
Leading the way for Purdue at the plate was junior shortstop Katie Crabtree, as she tallied her fourth and fifth home runs of the season. She came up big for the Boilermakers in both games, hitting a deep shot to left field for a solo blast in the first game and an even deeper shot over the center field wall for a two-run round-tripper in the second game. Crabtree leads the team in home runs (5) and RBI (18) to go with a .298 batting average.
Sophomore first baseman Heidi Foster smacked her first home run of the year in the first game. She hit a two-run deep shot over the center field wall in the bottom of the first inning, scoring sophomore Jesse Jones.
Head coach Carol Bruggeman felt the Boilermakers played two quality, all-around games.
"I thought that today our defense was very solid," Bruggeman said. "It was great for us to finally be on our own field and all three pitchers did an excellent job. On the offensive end, we had timely power hitting and anytime you hit two home runs in a single day, it's a great accomplishment and Katie did an excellent job. Overall, it was nice to play at home."
On the mound for the Boilermakers, sophomore left-hander Leighann Burke tallied another win in the opener, improving her season record to 7-4. She pitched six innings of two-hit ball, facing 20 batters (two over the minimum). She totaled 10 strikeouts, one shy of her career high, and walked no one.
Junior right-hander Nicole Crouse began her day on the mound in relief of Burke, pitching the seventh inning of Game 1. She earned her third save of the year, striking out one and allowing no runs, hits or walks.
Crouse then earned the win in Game 2 to go to 8-2 on the season. She pitched the first four innings, allowing three hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
Junior right-hander Meagan Dooley came in on relief for Crouse in the second game and pitched the final three innings. She struck out one, walked one and allowed two hits for the save, her third of the year.
The Boilermakers return to action on Saturday and Sunday, March 24-25, when they host the annual Boilermaker Invitational. Butler, Loyola (Chicago), Michigan, Minnesota and Toledo will come to town for the two-day event.
The Old Gold and Black will take on Loyola (Chicago) at 11 a.m. and Butler at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Purdue faces Toledo at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Following the pool play games, all six teams will receive a seeding and play at either 1 or 3 p.m. on Sunday. The Boilermakers will play all three of their pool games at the Varsity Softball Complex, while some games will also be played at Harrison High School.