April 11, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Iowa used a quartet of runs in the fifth inning to lift the team to a 4-0 win over Purdue in Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader. Boilermaker pitcher Diana LaRiva struck out 11 and allowed just one earned run in the effort, but it was not enough to garner the team its first Big Ten victory of the season. Purdue will look to get back on the winning track in a Tuesday game at Ball State.
"You have to give Iowa a lot of credit," head coach Carol Bruggeman said. "We had no answer for (pitcher Lisa) Birocci today. She showed why she is an All-American and she was in top form today. But, I really thought our pitchers did well, especially Diana who pitched a gem of a game. I thought she threw a lot more strikes than she got credit for, so it was very frustrating from that point."
Purdue started things off well enough, as sophomore Tricia Lilley posted a lead-off double off the center field wall. A sacrifice bunt by senior Angela Knight moved her to third, but a strike out and pop up left her stranded.
Iowa put a pair of runners on in the bottom of the inning, but was kept scoreless by a pair of strikeouts by LaRiva. Natalie Johnson drew a lead-off walk, then moved to second on a sacrifice. Stacy May then singled to left field, advancing Johnson to third, before LaRiva fanned the next two batters.
The Boilermakers got the Hawkeyes to strand four runners over the next three innings, before setting up their own next opportunity to score. Sophomore Staci Falzon tallied a one-out walk in the fifth, then moved to second as junior Katie Absher singled to short. Iowa then switched pitchers putting in Lisa Birocci, who picked up the win in Game 1 of the twin bill, for starter Ali Arnold. Birocci picked up where she left off in the first game, striking out the next two batters.
The Hawkeyes then lit up the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth, with four runs on two hits and an error. Amanda Hentges drew a one-out walk to give Iowa a base runner. She then moved to second on an infield single by Stacy May. Kylie Murray then singled to center field and advanced to second on Purdue's throw home as Hentges scored and May moved to third. Sami Baugh then reached via walk to load the bases with two outs. Ali Arnold then hit a high fly ball which was dropped by the center fielder, allowing all three runners to score. A strikeout prevented further damage.
Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the sixth, bringing up the Boilermakers for a last chance in the seventh. Sophomore Lauren Devich gave Purdue a base runner with a single down the left field line, but a strikeout and line out gave Iowa the series sweep.
"We are struggling right now," Bruggeman said. "A lot of our starters are out hurt, and a lot of other people have had opportunities to step up but haven't. I have never been through anything like this, but it is very frustrating. We don't have a lot of options, but we are trying to make the best of it and hope that people heal pretty quickly."
LaRiva struck out 11 batters, while Lilley, Devich and Absher tallied the three hits for the offense. Birocci picked up her second win of the day, striking out three batters in two and two thirds innings of relief. Arnold K'ed five before leaving with one out in the fifth.
The Boilermakers return to action Tuesday for a 4 p.m. single game at Ball State.