April 29, 2005
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The Penn State softball team used timely hitting to issue Purdue a 6-0 loss on Friday evening. The Boilermakers look to rebound in a rematch with the Nittany Lions at noon on Saturday.
The Boilermakers put two runners on with two outs in the first inning. Senior Andrea Hillsey (White Lake, Mich.) drew a two-out walk, then moved to second single to short by junior Tricia Lilley (North Canton, Ohio). A strikeout left both runners stranded.
Penn State scored two runs on a two hits and a walk in the bottom of the inning. Jen Williams reached on a one-out single into short left field. Williams stole second, before Hollee Haines joined her on base with a two-out walk. Leigh Murray put the Nittany Lions on the board with a double into left center, which scored both runners. A pop up kept Murray from scoring.
Junior Lauren Devich (Bloomington, Ind.) reached on a fielding error by the second baseman with two outs in the second inning, but could not make it around to score.
The Nittany Lions added another run on a hit and a walk in the second. Kelsey Francisco drew a two-out walk, then scored on a Jen Acunto double to the right center wall. A strikeout ended the stanza.
Jenn Reynolds hung a two-out home run over the center field wall to make it 5-0 as pinch runner Kari Lucas scored from first. Lucas was running for Haines who drew a one-out walk. Another strikeout ended the rally.
Sophomore Brooke Baker (Schererville, Ind.) entered the game to pitch with two outs in the fourth and got the final batter to ground out to end the inning.
Devich was hit by a pitch with one out in the fifth to give Purdue a base runner. A fly out accounted for the inning's second out, then pinch runner Jamie Dum (Indianapolis, Ind.) was caught stealing to wrap up the stanza.
Ashley Esparza hit a home run to dead center to add another run to the Nittany Lion tally in the bottom of the fifth. A fly out and a grounder to shortstop brought the Boilermakers to the plate.
Senior Shelli Messer (Greenfield, Ind.) singled to short to start the sixth, but was out at second as senior Katie Absher (Puyallup, Wash.) reached on a fielder's choice. A fly ball to deep left and a strikeout kept Absher from making her way around the bases.
PSU went down in order in the bottom of the sixth, bring Purdue to bat one final time. Sophomore Erika Peterson (Irvine, Calif.) reached on a two-out walk to keep hope alive, but a pop up to the shortstop sealed the Nittany Lion win.
Purdue posted two hits in the contest, one each by Messer and Lilley. Penn State scored six runs on five hits in the contest.
Missy Beseres (14-10) earned the shutout win for Penn State, while junior Diana LaRiva (Tustin, Calif.) was charged with the loss despite striking out five in 3.2 innings of work. Baker struck out two in 2.1 innings of relief.
The Boilermakers (31-20-1, 7-8 Big Ten) look to settle the score with Penn State (31-18, 7-7 Big Ten) in a rematch at noon on Saturday.