May. 1, 2005
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Boilermaker softball team scored early and often, dropping 11 hits on the Buckeyes en route to an 8-0 mercy rule win. Sophomore Brooke Baker struck out two in the complete game effort, while eight different Purdue players contributed hits. The team returns to action at 1 p.m. on Saturday against Indiana.
The Boilermakers jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first. Senior Andrea Hillsey (White Lake, Mich.) led off with a single to left, then stole second. Senior Shelli Messer (Greenfield, Ind.) filled the empty spot at first base with a one-out walk. Junior Tricia Lilley (North Canton, Ohio) singled through the left side to score Hillsey and move Messer over to third. Sophomore DaQueta Johnson (Irvine, Calif.) scored Messer with a sacrifice fly to center field. A pop up left Lilley stranded.
Purdue put two on in the second, but could not convert them into runs. Junior Becky Stone (Belleville, Ill.) singled up the middle with one out. Senior Katie Absher (Puyallup, Wash.) reached on a fielder's choice as the Buckeyes put pinch runner Tiffany Krcelich (Granger, Ind.) out at second. Hillsey singled up the middle, putting runners at first and second, but a grounder to the shortstop kept them from scoring.
The Buckeyes got their first hit of the game as Liz Caputo singled to short. Caputo moved to second on a sacrifice, before Nycole Koyano joined her on base with a walk. A wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position, then Karisa Evans walked to load the bases. A ground out to second left all three runners on base.
OSU put a runner on in the fourth as Stacy Hibma posted a two-out single, but a grounder to the pitcher left her stranded. The Buckeyes got two base runners in the fifth, but could not bring them around to score.
The Boilermakers added four runs to their tally on six hits and an error in the fifth. Absher led off with a single to left, but was out at second as Hillsey reached on a fielder's choice. Junior Staci Falzon (Carlsbad, Calif.) singled through the right side, then Messer followed with a single up the middle. Messer moved to third on the play and both runners scored as the center fielder overthrew third base with the ball ending up in the OSU dugout, granting each runner an extra base. Lilley singled to left, scoring Messer, before being thrown out while attempting to take second. Johnson made it 6-0 with a solo home run to dead-on center field. That spelled the end of the day for starting pitcher Jamee Juarez as Chelsea Baker took the mound. The pitching change did not affect sophomore Erika Peterson (Irvine, Calif.), who singled up the left field line, before a fielder's choice ended the stanza.
OSU went down in order in the sixth, bringing the Boilermakers to the plate one last time.
Stone started the Purdue half of the sixth with a walk. A fielder's choice put Absher on first as Stone was put out at second. Hillsey walked to give Purdue two on with out. Another fielder's choice put Falzon on base as Absher was thrown out at third. Messer walked to load the bases, prompting another Ohio State pitching change as Nicole Gragson took the mound replacing the reliever Baker. Lilley ended the game with a double to right center, which scored Hillsey and Falzon to seal the run-rule victory.
Eight different Boilermakers posted a hit in the game, led by Lilley's 3-for-4 effort, which included four RBI. Hillsey also tallied multiple hits in the contest, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Purdue scored eight runs on 11 hits, while Ohio State scored no runs on four hits.
Baker (14-14) earned the complete game victory, striking out two, while Juarez dropped to 21-11 with the loss.
The Boilermakers (32-22-1, 8-10 Big Ten) return to action at 1 p.m. on Saturday, when they take on Indiana for a Senior Day contest.