March 26, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue completed its home-opening series sweep of Detroit with an 8-0 mercy rule win in Game 2 of the doubleheader. The Boilermaker offense chalked up 11 hits, while freshman Melissa Burns struck out seven in her first regular season appearance at the Varsity Softball Complex.
The Titans posted the first hit of the game as Sarah Dickey led off with a single up the middle in the opening stanza. She was caught stealing on the following play, then Burns struck out the next batter before a ground out ended the inning.
Purdue wasted no time getting onto the scoreboard, posting two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first. Senior Shelli Messer (Greenfield, Ind.) singled up the middle. Senior Katie Absher (Puyallup, Wash.) reached on a fielder's choice, which saw Messer out at second. Senior Andrea Hillsey (White Lake, Mich.) then doubled to right, advancing Absher to third. Junior Tricia Lilley (North Canton, Ohio) came through with a two-out single to right, driving in both runners. Sophomore Erika Peterson (Irvine, Calif.) joined Lilley on base via walk, but a fly ball kept Purdue from adding to its lead.
Detroit put a runner in scoring position in the second as Katrina Klemp single and advanced on a sacrifice. A pair of swinging strikeouts, however, left her stranded.
The Boilermakers padded their lead with a single run in the third. Hillsey drew a one-out walk, then Lilley sent a two-out triple into center field to pick up the RBI.
Purdue loaded the bases in the fourth, but couldn't convert the runners into tallies on the scoreboard. Junior Staci Falzon (Carlsbad, Calif.) kicked off a rally for the Boilermakers with a single up the middle. Messer followed with a single through the left side. Redshirt junior Kristen Schell then drew a pinch-hit walk to load the bases. A fielder's choice, however, saw Messer out at third to end the inning.
The Titans mounted a two-out rally of their own in the fifth. Kaleigh Rafter singled to center, then Jessie Kish singled down the right field line to put two on. A caught foul ball to left, however left both ducks on the pond.
One swing of the bat in the fifth pushed the Purdue lead to 4-0 as Peterson sent a towering solo home run over the heads of the photographers in dead center.
Detroit went down in order in the sixth, setting up the Boilermakers' final inning. Messer sent a two-out double into left to give Purdue a base runner. Junior Lauren Devich (Bloomington, Ind.) made good on the RBI opportunity with a single up the middle. Hillsey walked, moving pinch runner Jamie Dum (Indianapolis, Ind.) to second. Both runners advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch as sophomore DaQueta Johnson came to the plate. Johnson scored both with a double to center. The Titans hoped a change of pitcher could change the results, putting in Adrienne Baran in relief to face Lilley. The pitching change was of no effect as Lilley drove in pinch runner Ashley Hall (Noblesville, Ind.) with a triple to deep right field. The three-bagger, Lilley's second of the game tied a school single game record, while sealing the Purdue mercy rule win. Messer and Lilley led the Purdue bats posting 3-for-4 performances at the plate. Seven batters posted hits in the effort.
Freshman Melissa Burns (Miami, Fla.) moved to 4-2 on the season with the complete game shutout victory. Burns struck out seven in the outing. Anna Ollgaard was saddled with the loss for Detroit after throwing 5.2 innings.
"We had an outstanding day hitting the ball, with 24 hits in 12 innings," head coach Carol Bruggeman said. "Everyone contributed both the people on the bench and our starters. We finally had a breakout game on offense and you can see the huge smiles on our players' faces. We showed that we can be a dominant offense.
"Both of our pitchers had a good day. Brooke had to work for her win in the first game. She battled and got better as the game went on. Mel was in good command the whole game, pitching a shutout. They never hit the ball hard against her. We finally found what we have been looking for on both sides of the ball."
The Boilermakers return to action at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, when they travel to Muncie, Ind., to take on Ball State in a single game.