March 4, 2005
MARIETTA, Ga. - The Mercer softball team used timely hits en route to a 7-3 win over Purdue to open the Buzz Classic on Friday. Purdue looks to rebound when it takes on No. 19 Georgia Tech at 6 p.m.
Mercer scored first with three runs on two hits in the opening stanza. Kerri Ryskamp led off with a solo shot over the fence in left center. Tiffany Abbott then singled through the right side. A fielder's choice and a walk loaded the bases, prompting a Boilermaker pitching change. A pair of walks brought in two more Bear runs before a double play got Purdue out of the inning.
Junior Staci Falzon (Carlsbad, Calif.) drew a lead-off walk for Purdue, but the Boilermakers could not bring her in to score.
The Bears tacked on two more runs in the second inning on a pair of hits, two walks and a wild pitch. Gigi Eykamp and Ryskamp walked to start the stanza, then Sarah Harding singled to the shortstop loading the bases. A wild pitch scored Eykamp then a Katie Rosentreter single through the left side drove in Ryskamp. A pair of strikeouts stopped the scoring.
Purdue got three runs back on two hits and a walk in the third. Redshirt junior Kristen Schell (San Diego, Calif.) singled through the left side to start the rally. Sophomore Erika Peterson (Irvine, Calif.) walked to bump pinch runner Tiffany Krcelich (Granger, Ind.) to second. A fielder's choice put Falzon on first and moved Krcelich to third. A ground ball put the Boilermakers on the scoreboard. Senior Andrea Hillsey (White Lake, Mich.) then cut the Mercer lead to two with a two-run home run over the centerfield fence.
Mercer tallied a run on a hit again in the fifth as Meghan Clark sent a lead-off shot over the wall. A couple of fly balls and a liner to first base wrapped up the stanza.
The Bears used a pair of hits and a sacrifice for another run in the sixth. Eykamp reached on a bunt single, then was sacrificed over to second. Harding then sent a two-out RBI single up the left field line to make it 7-3.
The Boilermakers loaded the bases in the sixth, but couldn't convert the base runners into tallies on the scoreboard. Hillsey drew the lead-off walk, then junior Tricia Lilley (North Canton, Ohio) reached on a fielding error by the third baseman. Sophomore Katie Fortune (Kingwood, Texas) filled the bases with a two-out walk, but a ground ball kept Purdue off the scoreboard.
Purdue got a base runner in the seventh as junior Becky Stone (Belleville, Ill.) tallied a pinch hit single. A pair of ground balls and a fly ball to right kept the Boilermakers from a comeback effort.
Schell led the Purdue bats with two of the team's four hits. Mercer scored seven runs on nine hits.
Katie Rosentreter picked up the complete game win, while freshman Melissa Burns (Miami, Fla.) was saddled with the loss after giving up three runs in the opening stanza. Junior Diana LaRiva struck out eight batters in five and two thirds innings of relief, but couldn't get the offensive support for a win.
Purdue returns to the field at 6 p.m. against No. 19 Georgia Tech.