April 19, 2003
IOWA CITY, Iowa - In a game that took nearly six hours to complete due to a four-hour rain delay, the Iowa softball team topped Purdue 9-0 to sweep the series.
Purdue put a runner aboard in each of the first three innings on five hits and a walk and threatened to score first with the bases loaded in the second. Senior Heidi Foster led off with a single through the left side. Junior Angela Knight tabbed a two-out single into right center after fouling one offering off her knee and forcing an injury timeout. Senior Angi Roembke laid down a bunt single to load the bases, but a grounder to the shortstop ended the rally.
Iowa put together a three-run third inning on a two-out walk, a pair of triples and a single. Boilermaker starter Diana LaRiva struck out Amanda Hentges to start the inning, her third K of the game. A single to center was nullified as the runner was caught stealing on the next play, marking two outs with the bases empty. LaRiva then walked Katie Boney, who came around on a Stacy May triple to deep right field. Junior Christina Schmaltz followed that with a triple over the right fielder's head, marking her school record and league-leading seventh of the year, driving in May from third. Jessica Bashor then singled up the left field line to scored Schmaltz and give the Hawkeyes a 3-0 lead. LaRiva stopped the bleeding punching out Lisa Birocci, who was batting before coming in to relieve starter Ali Arnold.
The Hawkeyes' Elisha Huse walked to start the fourth, before senior Leighann Burke came in to relieve LaRiva. The next batter sacrifice bunted to move the runner, then Kristin Johnson singled past the third baseman. Another sacrifice bunt put the runners in scoring position for Stacy May, whom the Boilermakers intentionally walked. After a four hour rain delay, Burke faced Schmaltz, who singled to shallow center field, scoring Huse and Johnson. The next batter popped out to second baseman Andrea Hillsey to end the inning.
The Hawkeyes tacked on four more runs in the sixth inning, including a three-run home run by Schmaltz. Pinch hitter Kylie Murray walked to open the inning. First baseman Amanda Hentges reentered to run and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a bunt single, before scoring on single up the middle. Schmaltz then cleared the bases with a three-run shot over the wall in left center. A walk followed, but LaRiva returned to the mound and struck out the next to batters to prevent any more damage.
The Boilermakers made contact twice in the bottom of the sixth, but both balls wound up as pop ups to the infield. Birocci struck out the final batter of the game, her fifth of the afternoon to seal the win.
Birocci allowed just one hit in four innings of action to garner the win. LaRiva drops to 11-10 after being charged with the loss. The Boilermakers had five hits in the contest, each by a different batter. Schmaltz went 4-for-4 with six RBI, while May was 3-for-3 with a walk and two RBI.
Purdue will have a few days away from competition before heading to Indianapolis to face IUPUI in a 4 p.m. doubleheader on Wednesday.