Feb. 14, 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. - The Purdue softball team dropped its first game of the season, a 5-0 decision to Louisville, on Saturday afternoon during day two action at the Triangle Classic. The Cardinals used 10 hits to garner their five runs in the win and held the Boilermakers to just two hits in the game.
Louisville came to bat in the bottom of the first and started out with a bunt single by Shannon Nord. A sacrifice bunt moved Nord to second, then an errant throw by the third baseman allowed her to score with two outs. Lacy Wood, who was on first due to the miscue, advanced to second on a Courtney Moore single to left field. Lisa Estes then scored both runners with a double to right. Starting pitcher Diana LaRiva struck out the final batter of the stanza.
The Cardinals posted a double and a single in the second, then loaded the bases on a two-out hit by pitch, but could not convert after Wood grounded out to third.
Purdue tallied its first hit in the top of the sixth, when freshman Katie Fortune (Houston, Texas) notched a lead-off single to left field. Freshman Erika Peterson then tabbed a bunt single to give the Boilermakers runners at first and second. Louisville went for the lead runner on an Angela Knight fielder's choice and got pinch runner Jaime Dum at third. Sophomore Becky Stone (Belleville, Ill.) came in to pinch hit with two outs and reached base on an error by the first baseman, loading the bases. A high fly ball to right field was pulled down by the Cardinal's Candi Hicks to thwart the Purdue rally.
Louisville chalked up two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on a trio of hits. Michelle Vasquez and Audrey Rendon posted back-to back one-out singles then moved to second and third on a ground out. Candi Hicks struck again, this time on offense, sending a long single to the right field fence, scoring both runners.
Purdue went down 1-2-3 in the seventh to seal the Cardinal win. The Boilermakers had just one base runner in the first five innings of the game, as sophomore Tricia Lilley (North Canton, Ohio) was hit by a pitch to lead of the contest. The team did, however, put a lot of balls in play as Louisville pitcher Kady Garrick struck out just two batters.
Garrick garnered the win after pitching the complete game shutout, while LaRiva was tabbed for the loss after giving up three runs in the first four innings. LaRiva struck out six batters, before exiting the game for freshman Brooke Baker in the fifth.
Fortune and Peterson posted the only two hits of the game for the Boilermakers, who drop to 2-1 on the season with the loss.
The Boilermakers will now face the Marshall Thundering Herd in a loser's bracket game of the Triangle Classic. The game is set for a 3:30 start.