March 29, 2003
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Boilermaker softball team came out on the short end of a 6-5 decision against Penn State Saturday afternoon. Purdue outhit the Nittany Lions seven to five and had the winning run aboard in the bottom of the seventh but couldn't cap it off.
In a 3-0 hole, Penn State came back with a five-run fifth inning including a two-out grand slam by Kelley Galigher. The first run scored on a two-out single to left by Mandy Nuxoll. The hit came with bases loaded after a Erica Greenburg single and a pair of walks by freshman Diana LaRiva. Senior Leighann Burke came in to face Galigher with the bases full and took her to a full count before the base clearing shot down the left field line.
The Nittany Lions made it 6-3 with an RBI single by Nuxoll. The base hit scored Barbie Pierce from third. Pierce doubled to left and then advanced to third on a ground out.
The Old Gold and Black rallied in the seventh as sophomore Andrea Hillsey doubled to deep right field to drive in junior Angela Knight and freshman Tricia Lilley from second and third. Both were hit by PSU reliever Marisa Hanson and advanced on an Angi Roembke sacrifice bunt. Senior Heidi Foster kept things going with a single to left, but it wasn't enough to bring in Hillsey from second. Senior Jesse Jones came up with the winning run on first in pinch runner Courtney Kovanis, but couldn't convert, going down swinging to end the game.
The Boilermakers scored first on an Angela Knight RBI single up the left field line. The hit drove in pinch runner Katie Absher from second. Absher was running for freshman Lauren Devich, who extended her hit streak to five against the Nittany Lions with a single to left.
Purdue tacked on a pair of runs in the third with back-to-back home runs by Hillsey (3) and Foster (7). Hillsey started the inning with the long ball to center field which landed just under the scoreboard, then Foster changed directions with a deep shot to left.
LaRiva dropped to 8-6 with the loss, while Hanson moved to 9-6 in the relief effort. Hillsey led the Boilermaker bats, going 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and three RBI.
Purdue will return to action at noon on Sunday in a doubleheader at Ohio State.