March 9, 2002
PLANT CITY, Fla. - The Purdue softball team finished out its stint at the Speedline Invitational with a 5-2 record on the weekend, improving its overall record to 15-9. The Boilermakers played three games today, defeating Oklahoma State, 1-0, in pool play and Penn State, 1-0, in the first round of bracket play. They then fell to No. 13 Florida Atlantic in the second round of bracket play in a nightcap game.
"Today, to earn two shutout wins against both Oklahoma State and Penn State was just great for us," said Purdue head coach Carol Bruggeman. "We played outstanding defense in our two wins and timely hitting was the key in both of the wins today. Nicole Crouse and Meagan Dooley both did a fabulous job today on the mound.
"Overall, to finish tied for fifth in a tournament of 24 is great. We came down and went 5-2 on the weekend and that's a great start for our Spring Break."
In the first game, the Boilermakers' senior pitcher Nicole Crouse went against Oklahoma State's No. 1 pitcher in Lauren Bay in a true pitching dual. Keeping a no-hitter until the bottom of the sixth inning, Bay held the Boilermakers to only two hits the entire game, while Crouse held the Cowgirls to just one hit in each of four innings.
Junior Angi Roembke started the late action and laid down a bunt in the bottom of the sixth inning that gave the Old Gold and Black their first hit of the game. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, Purdue tallied the go-ahead run as Laura Martin, a junior designated player, singled to right field, freshman Shelli Messer laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Martin's pinch runner in freshman Katie Absher, and sophomore Angela Knight reached first and advanced to second on a throwing error by the OSU first baseman. That error gave Knight the RBI as Absher crossed the plate for the 1-0 victory by Purdue.
On the mound, Crouse pitched the shutout as a complete game, allowing just four hits and walking one. She struck out seven after facing a total of 26 batters.
After winning that game against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls, the Boilermakers were 4-1 in pool play of the Speedline Invitational. This meant that three teams in their pool all finished with 4-1 records, while also all beating each other head-to-head. The determining factor to the bracket seeding became runs given up and the Boilermakers, unfortunately, fell into the third-place seed to play Penn State.
Against the Nittany Lions, it was a traditional Big Ten rivalry and matchup, with neither team scoring until the top of the sixth inning.
The Boilermakers started off strong, with two hits in the top of the first inning on a senior shortstop Katie Crabtree single to center field and a freshman second baseman Andrea Hillsey single to the shortstop. Purdue was able to put runners on second and third with just one out on a double steal, but were unable to score the runs, as the Penn State defense held strong.
Penn State attempted a comeback in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Purdue's defense held tight with runners on second and third to get out of the inning an score its own sole run of the game in the top of the sixth. Roembke, again, laid down a bunt that produced a single, as she beat out the throw and then stole second. Hillsey stepped to the plate and hit a hard single up the middle and then advanced to second on the throw home that was an attempt at getting Roembke. But, the Nittany Lions were not able to fight back and the Boilermakers won their second game of the day, advancing to the 7 p.m. bracket game.
On the mound, senior Meagan Dooley pitched a complete game, facing a total of 24 batters with no walks and three strikeouts.
Finally, the Boilermakers wrapped up their day in a hard-fought game against Florida Atlantic in the 7 p.m. bracket. FAU won their bracket to receive the bye, but Purdue came out ready to play.
Florida Atlantic scored its first run in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI single up the middle. But, Purdue held the Eagles to one run until the bottom of the fourth, when Ginny Matthews hit a solo home run to left field. Now the Eagles were up, 2-0.
The Boilermakers played well until fatigue set in in the bottom of the sixth inning, when FAU scored three runs on two hits with two Purdue errors to end the game.
The Old Gold and Black will return to the diamond on Wednesday for a doubleheader against Valparaiso at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex. Game time is slated for 1:30 p.m.
-P-