Feb. 17, 2002
Purdue-Bethune Cookman Box Score in PDF Format
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Purdue-UT-San Antonio Box Score in PDF FormatDownload Free Acrobat Reader
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Carol Bruggeman had been waiting for her Purdue softball team bats to come alive. Her patience was rewarded Sunday.
The Boilermakers clubbed three home runs and banged out 22 hits to win a pair of games on the final day of the UT-San Antonio Fastpitch Classic. They defeated Bethune-Cookman and the host Roadrunners by identical 5-3 scores to finish 4-2 in the tournament and improve to 7-4 on the season.
"It was an offensive explosion, certainly our best performance of the season," Bruggeman said. "I knew our bats eventually would come around because we have too much talent in the lineup. We're happy to finish the tournament on a strong note, and it should give us some momentum."
Junior first baseman Heidi Foster and sophomore catcher Sara Hall homered against Bethune-Cookman in support of Meagan Dooley, and senior shortstop Katie Crabtree blasted a game-winning round-tripper with two outs and two strikes in the sixth inning to cap the sweep.
Foster also doubled and tripled in the opener, while Hall collected three hits, as well, to lead the Boilermakers' season-high 13-hit attack.
It was more than enough for Dooley (3-1), who went the distance, allowing merely one earned run while scattering five hits, walking none and striking out three.
Against UT-San Antonio, junior Leighann Burke (3-2) worked the first six innings to earn the win. She allowed seven hits and three runs (two earned) to go with five strikeouts. Senior Nicole Crouse got in and out of trouble in the seventh to pick up her first save of the season.
Purdue returns to action March 1 against Florida at the Easton Classic in Los Angeles.