Sophomore Andrea Hillsey reached base with two outs in the first inning as she hit a ground ball between the legs of the third baseman. Seniors Heidi Foster and Jesse Jones kept the Boilermakers alive and gave them a two-run lead with back-to-back doubles to deep left field.
Centerfielder Angie Grabczak snapped pitcher Leighann Burke's streak of seven hitless innings with a leadoff single up the middle for IPFW, but that would be the lone hit for the Mastodons in the effort. The one-hitter, the ninth of Burke's career, was sealed by a 12-hit effort by the Boilermaker offense.
Another two-out RBI double put Purdue up 3-0 as freshman Tricia Lilley drove in junior Angela Knight who reached on a fielder's choice in the second.
The Boilermakers retired six straight Mastodons and then sealed the win with an eight-run fifth inning. Senior Angi Roembke got the rally started with a bunt single and stolen base. Senior Heidi Foster then launched a three-run home run, driving in Roembke and Hillsey, who had singled to right field. The round-tripper prompted an IPFW pitching change, but freshman Beth Harmon could find no more success than starter Mindy Mason. She walked the first batter she faced in senior Jesse Jones, but received help from her defense which turned a double play to clear the bases. Harmon then walked senior Laura Martin to give the Boilermakers another base runner. Redshirt freshman Kristen Schell and Knight singled to bring up Lilley with the bases full. Lilley delivered with a three-run triple to right center. Purdue made it through the order to again bring up Roembke, who tabbed another bunt single to score Lilley. Roembke wound up at second on the play after an errant throw by the pitcher. Hillsey then brought her around as she reached on an error by the shortstop. The IPFW defense finally ended the inning, catching a foul ball by Foster.
Purdue scored 11 runs on 12 hits and three Mastadon errors as Burke (12-6) picked up her sixth straight win. Lilley and Foster each went 2-for-4 with four RBI in the effort. Mason dropped to 1-5 with the loss.
"Leighann continued to dominate on the mound," head coach Carol Bruggeman said. "She is pitching with a lot of confidence and her defense has a lot of confidence in her. Our offense came out swinging the bats aggressively. Our focus against IPFW was to make things happen and we were successful at doing that."
The game was the first of two on the day for the Boilermakers, who will clinch the tournament title with a win over Butler in the night cap.