March 5, 2005
MARIETTA, Ga. - A home run in the bottom of the seventh inning gave Winthrop a 5-3 win over the Boilermaker softball team on Day 2 of the Buzz Classic. Purdue rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie it up before the seventh-inning heroics halted the comeback effort. The Boilermakers wrap up the pool play portion of the Classic with a 6 p.m. contest against Saint Louis.
Purdue started the game with a pair of hits, but couldn't convert them into runs on the scoreboard. Senior Shelli Messer (Greenfield, Ind.) led off with a single up the middle, then junior Staci Falzon (Carlsbad, Calif.) followed with a bunt single. A sacrifice moved both runners into scoring position, but a ground out and a pop up kept the team from scoring.
The Boilermakers put two runners on again in the fourth as senior Andrea Hillsey (White Lake, Mich.) drew a lead-off walk and junior Tricia Lilley (North Canton, Ohio) was hit by a pitch. A pop up and a ground out left the runners stranded.
Winthrop tallied the game's first run with a solo home run by Kjersti Johnson to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Hilary Peacock registered a two-out single and advanced to second on a close throw from right field before scoring on a Jenny Scrymgeour two-run shot over the center field fence.
Sophomore DaQueta Johnson (Ontario, Calif.) got Purdue back in the game with a two-run bomb in the sixth inning. Johnson's shot, her second of the weekend plated Hillsey, who walked to start the stanza. Redshirt junior Kristen Schell (San Diego, Calif.) walked, then pinch runner Ashley Hall (Noblesville, Ind.) advanced to second on a sacrifice. Hall was running on a Erika Peterson grounder to the shortstop and scored as the shortstop's throw was dropped by the first baseman. A pop up ended the rally with the game tied at 3-3.
The Eagles got a base runner in the bottom of the seventh as Stephanie Reid sent a one-out single up the middle. Caryn Little ended the game with a two-run walk off home run over the fence in right center.
Messer led the Purdue bats with a 2-for-4 outing, while Johnson and Falzon accounted for the team's other hits. The Boilermakers managed three runs on four hits and an error, while Winthrop posted five runs on six hits.
Kelli Johnson earned the complete game victory, while sophomore Brooke Baker (Schererville, Ind.) was charged with the loss after 1.2 innings of relief work.
The Boilermakers (10-8) look to break into the win column against Saint Louis at 6 p.m.