Feb. 17, 2003
LAS VEGAS - Purdue put together a dominating offensive effort in a 10-1 mercy rule win over UC Riverside Sunday morning in a game which featured a school-record tying two home runs and six RBI by freshman Tricia Lilley, including a game-ending grand slam.
Lilley, the team's lead off hitter, started early, shaking off a full count in the bottom of the first to send one over the center field fence. Sophomore Andrea Hillsey followed it up with a single up the middle and a stolen base, but didn't make it in to score.
"I was real relaxed today and wasn't thinking about a whole lot. I just went out there and hit the ball," Lilley said. "Yesterday was a real let down after the second game, so coming back today and scoring all these runs is leaving us with a high and giving us a lot of confidence."
The Purdue defense, which allowed only three hits in the game, took down the Highlanders 1-2-3 in the second, but Riverside stood strong, turning the tables on the Boilermakers in the bottom of the inning.
The Old Gold and Black continued to play tough defense, turning their first double play of the year, as Lilley fielded a ground ball and threw out Jaime Yee at first. First baseman Heidi Foster finished the play with a toss to third baseman Jesse Jones to end the third inning.
The Boilermakers extended their lead in third with two runs on two hits and an error. Pitcher Jenell Jackson walked Lilley to kick off the inning and moved to second on an Angi Roembke bunt for a hit. With two runners on, Hillsey tallied a sac bunt of her own to move both Roembke and Lilley into scoring position. Foster walked to load the bases for senior Jesse Jones, who hit a two-run double to right center. Foster tried to make it three runs on the hit, but was thrown out sliding into home.
The domination continued in the fourth inning as Purdue batted through the order and put up three more runs on four hits. Designated player Staci Falzon, in her first start of the year, doubled to center field and advanced to third on a Kristen Schell sacrifice bunt. Schell outran the throw to put two aboard for Lilley, who hit a fly ball to right field, deep enough to score Falzon from third. Roembke singled to drive in Katie Absher, who pinch ran for Schell. She then stole second and scored on a Hillsey double down the left field line.
Purdue held UCR without a hit until the fifth inning, when Suzy Dallas opened the inning with a double to center. Pitcher Leighann Burke then hit Jessica Black to put two on for pitcher/designated player Nikki Bethurum, who doubled to left to score the team's lone run of the game. Kristey Hernandez tried to continue the rally with a single to short, but Black was thrown out at home by Lilley.
Bethurum tried to keep the Highlanders in the game from the mound, but couldn't put a lid on the Boilermakers. Falzon tallied her second hit of the day, a single to left center to start the bottom of the fifth. Schell was hit by a pitch, advancing Falzon to second. Bethurum then walked Angela Knight to load the bases for Lilley, who knocked a grand slam to left center to clinch the mercy rule win.
The grand slam, the first by a Boilermaker since senior Heidi Foster launched one against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 3, 2002, was Lilley's third home run of the year and second on the day.
"This was definitely our best overall game of the season," head coach Carol Bruggeman said. "Everything was clicking. Our offense was awesome. Tricia Lilley led the way with two home runs, including a walk-off grand slam. For a freshman, that is pretty exciting. I thought Leighann Burke did a nice job with a three-hitter, keeping the hitters off balance with her change up. This was definitely our most complete game; we had several stolen bases, we got several sacrifice bunts down and our defense executed. It was a great way to end the tournament."
The Boilermakers (4-5) will have next weekend off before traveling to the Worth Invitational in Fullerton, Calif.