March 4, 2005
MARIETTA, Ga. - A seventh-inning rally lifted No. 19 Georgia Tech past Purdue 2-1 in Game 2 of the Buzz Classic Friday evening. The Boilermakers scored first, but a seventh inning single and an errant throw gave the Yellow Jackets all they needed to secure the comeback victory. Purdue looks to shake off its Day 1 results when it takes on Winthrop and Saint Louis on Saturday.
"It was a heartbreaking loss," head coach Carol Bruggeman said. "Brooke (Baker) pitched her heart out and we just battled against one of the best pitchers in the country. The bottom line is that when we are winning by one run with three outs to go we have to shut the door. I think we were starting to think about winning instead of closing it out and got out of our element. It was a well played game by both teams."
After centerfielder Kacey Ivey snagged a long fly ball to rob DaQueta Johnson (Ontario, Calif.) of a home run to open the fifth inning, senior Shelli Messer (Greenfield, Ind.) registered the first hit of the contest, a two-out single up the middle. A caught foul ball kept Purdue from breaking into the run column.
Amy Hosier halted Purdue pitcher Brooke Baker's four innings of no-hit softball with a single through the left side in the bottom of the fifth. The next batter flew out into a double play, before Ivey reached on a bunt single. Ivey stole second before a swinging strikeout prevented any scoring.
Tech put two runners on in the sixth on a pair of two-out hits, but couldn't convert them into runs as a strikeout ended the inning. Christine Sheridan singled to right, then Sarah Wood doubled to left, before the K got Purdue out of the inning without any damage.
The Boilermakers broke onto the scoreboard in the top of the seventh as Johnson got back the run that was stolen from her previously, sending a two-out solo shot over the fence in left center.
The Yellow Jackets tied it up on an RBI single by Aileen Morales, which drove in Katie Donovan from second. Amy Hosier singled to center field to start the inning, then Donovan walked. A Kirin Kumar fielder's choice put runners on first and second with two outs, bringing up Morales. Morales moved to second and Kumar wound up on third after the RBI on the throw home. Caitlin Lever then reached on a throwing error by the third baseman, allowing Kumar to score to give Georgia Tech the win.
Johnson and Messer posted Purdue's two hits, while Tech scored two runs on six hits.
Jessica Sallinger (10-2) earned the complete game victory, striking out 11 batters, while Baker was charged with the loss despite striking out seven Yellow Jackets.
Purdue (10-7) returns to action at 9 a.m. Saturday against Winthrop.