May 1, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermakers outlasted two rain delays to make it a sweep over the Indiana State Sycamores with a 9-1 win in the night cap. Senior Heidi Foster made a dent in the career record books with her 32nd home run as a Boilermaker, a shot which tied her for the record with 2002 graduate Katie Crabtree.
"I thought Heidi was outstanding today; she really carried our offense," head coach Carol Bruggeman said. "She was probably the leading hitter of the day. Heidi is just one of the greatest hitters to ever wear a Purdue uniform and what makes her so good is that she is very determined and she is so powerful. Rarely does she dribble out or hit a slow roller. The ball that she hit to tie it would have cleared a fence that was 250 feet. She really just got all of the ball. She and Katie are two of the greatest hitters and I think they are both deserving of that top spot."
It wasn't all Purdue to begin with as Indiana State scored first with a two-out solo home run to left field by Stacey Sparger, who had one of the team's two hits in Game 1.
Purdue answered with three runs in the bottom of the opening stanza as Andrea Hillsey climbed aboard when the left field dropped a fly ball and Foster followed with the shot to left center. Senior Jesse Jones mimicked the effort with a full count dinger down the left field line.
Indiana State threatened in the second after a double to center, a single past the third baseman and a bunt single loaded the bases. Freshman pitcher Diana LaRiva looked danger in the face and struck out the next batter before getting Katie Pauley to hit into a tough double play. The Sycamores packed the bases again in the third on a single and a pair of walks, but to no avail as a fly out and ground out ended the inning.
"Diana pitches better when it is a tight situation," Bruggeman said. "When bases are loaded or there are runners in scoring position, she gets very focused and gets the job done. What I would like to see from her is that type of focus every pitch of every game. But she bore down and was tough today. I also thought our defense made one of our greatest plays of the year on the double play where Tricia (Lilley) made the catch and threw to Jesse (Jones), who stretched like a first baseman to make the double play. It was only 3-1 at that point and that was a big play in the game."
The Boilermakers added more offensive magic in the third. Lilley was beaned for the second time in the double header to lead off the inning. She then advanced to third on an Angi Roembke sacrifice bunt and a passed ball. The pitcher, Sammi Whitcomb, then walked Hillsey before rain paused the game for the second time.
An hour, some sunshine and a lot of field maintenance later, the teams went back on the diamond to finish the contest. Hillsey was caught stealing to put Lilley alone on the base paths with two outs. Whitcomb then walked both Foster and Jones to fill the bases for senior Andrea Roush, who doubled to the left field wall, driving in two runs.
Foster doubled to open the fifth inning, prompting ISU to change pitchers. Jamie Rasmussen came in to face Jones, who promptly singled to left field advancing pinch runner Courtney Kovanis to third. A wild pitch scored Kovanis and moved pinch runner Staci Falzon to second for Andrea Roush, who singled, but a fielder's choice and a pair of ground outs stopped the rally.
Purdue capped the run-rule victory with three runs on three hits in the sixth. Roembke tallied a one-out bunt single and then stole second, leaving first base open for Hillsey, who received another base on balls. The walk was the first in a string of three that would score Roembke. Jones was credited with the RBI for taking five pitches from Rasmussen. Roush then singled down the right field line to score Hillsey from third. Shelli Messer then sealed the game with a single into shallow center field that scored Foster.
"We are very good hitting team," Bruggeman said. "To have double digit hits in both games is like the team we have seen most of the year. I thought it was a good day. It definitely tested our patience with the weather, but I give credit to our grounds crew, event managers, our staff, our parents and everybody who helped get the field ready to play. We don't like to leave unless we have to, so I was very happy that we got to finish it on the field."
Foster was 2-for-2 in the game with two walks, two RBI and three runs scored, while Jones was 2-for-2 with a pair of walks. Roush was 3-for-4 with three RBI.
The Boilermakers posted nine runs on 11 hits, while committing one error. Indiana State recorded one run on seven hits and two errors. LaRiva moved to 13-11 with the victory, which included four strikeouts, while Whitcomb fell to 0-6 with the loss.
Purdue will wrap up their home campaign with a single contest against Indiana at noon on Saturday. The game will be the final one at the Varsity Softball Complex for the team's six seniors: Leighann Burke, Heidi Foster, Jesse Jones, Laura Martin, Angi Roembke and Andrea Roush.