"I am very proud of our team to finish the sweep of Indiana," said Purdue head coach Carol Bruggeman. "I think that we really hit well today and we could've scored even more runs than we did. Nicole Crouse did an outstanding job in relief to take the win."
The Boilermakers started their offensive run early, as the first two batters in the Purdue lineup gave a two run advantage right away off of two Hoosiers errors.
Junior shortstop Katie Crabtree reached first base on an error by the first baseman as the first batter of the game. Then, senior center fielder Lynne Tortorelli reached first on an error by the Indiana third baseman's throw to first and continued to advance to third as Crabtree headed home for the first score. Tortorelli would then score just a couple of minutes later on a passed ball while sophomore third baseman Jesse Jones came up to the plate.
Jones was walked. Then sophomore first baseman Heidi Foster singled to right center field for her first of three strong hits on the day. Sophomore left fielder Andrea Roush followed up with a sacrifice bunt to advance Jones from second to third and Foster to second.
The inning would come to a close with junior right fielder Chrissy Davie grounding out to the shortstop, senior designated player Danika Nice walking, and senior catcher Keely Povlitz popping out to the second baseman, as Purdue left the bases loaded on one hit and two Indiana errors.
The Hoosiers were determined to come back and take a split after Saturday's loss, as they quickly scored a run to answer Purdue's two runs. The Hoosiers' senior catcher and lead-off batter, Brooke Monroe, singled to left field, reached second on a Boilermaker error and continued around the base path after a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch that allowed her to cross the plate.
In the top of the third inning, the Old Gold and Black gathered two more hits off of Foster and Roush, but were unable to send a runner home.
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In the bottom of the third inning, it looked as if the Hoosiers might be able to capitalize on Purdue's pitching. But the Boilermakers were able to get out of the inning with a pitching change and only two hits allowed, while leaving the bases loaded with Cream and Crimson runners.
Purdue's offense broke out again in the top of the fifth inning, tallying four hits and two more runs, despite leaving the bases loaded at the split.
Jones started it off for the Boilermakers with a single to left field. That gave sophomore Jill Paxson a chance to run at first base and continue her way around the bases when Foster smacked her third hit of the day and Roush singled to center field for the RBI as Paxson headed home.
Davie then singled to center field, while Roush advanced to second and Foster to third, loading the bases for the Boilermakers with no outs. IU made a pitching change that didn't really seem to help at first, as Nice reached first on a fielder's choice and Davie and Roush moved around when Foster was out at the plate on a controversial call.
Povlitz fouled out to the right field line, just before sophomore Laura Martin pinch hit for freshman second baseman Holly Streed and was walked. Martin tallied the RBI, though, as Roush crossed the plate on the walk. Crabtree would finish off the inning for Purdue, as the new pitcher finally found her spot and struck her out, swinging.
Indiana threatened again in the bottom of the fifth, but again, the Purdue defense was able to leave three runners on base.
The Old Gold and Black tallied two more hits in the top of the seventh inning, showing they weren't giving up. Roush singled in the infield, again, beating the throw to first with her speed and Davie singled to center field before Indiana was able to tally three outs and give it one more try themselves.
But Purdue finished off the Hoosiers for the two-game sweep and a fifth-place finish in the conference regular season standings with a record of 9-11. Despite their efforts, the Boilermakers do not advance to the Big Ten Tournament because both Penn State and Wisconsin win the tiebreakers over Purdue. Penn State wins with more overall wins within the top four Big Ten finishers and Wisconsin fits in because it split its series with third-place Ohio State.
On the mound for the Boilermakers, junior Meagan Dooley made the start and pitched 2.2 innings. She allowed all four Hoosier hits, one run, walked one and struck out two.
Junior Nicole Crouse came in for the relief and got the win, improving her record to 11-5 for the 2001 campaign. She held IU to a no-hitter in 4.1 innings and walked two, while striking out four.
The Big Ten Tournament will be hosted by first-place finisher and conference champion Michigan. The tournament will begin Thursday, May 10 and finish with the tournament champion being crowned on Saturday, May 12.
"For us to finish fifth in the conference and not get to continue playing in the tournament is very disappointing," said Bruggeman. "34 wins and a fifth-place regular season conference finish is a great accomplishment. I wish we were still playing, because this team and these women deserve to keep playing."
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