March 12, 2006
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Boilermaker softball team advanced to the finals of the silver bracket at the USF/Adidas Invitational with an 8-0 shutout win over Hofstra Sunday morning. Senior Diana LaRiva struck out 10 en route to the victory, which put Purdue in the bracket finals against North Carolina State.
Each team tallied a lead-off single in the first, but neither could manage a run.
The Boilermakers put two runners on in the second, as senior Becky Stone (Belleville, Ill.) tapped a two-out bloop single over the pitcher's head and senior Lauren Devich (Bloomington, Ind.) was hit by a pitch, but a fly ball left both stranded.
Purdue broke open the game with five runs on two hits and two walks in the third. Senior Tricia Lilley (North Canton, Ohio) drove in the game's first run with a bloop double up the right field line, plating sophomore Tiffany Krcelich (Granger, Ind.) who walked to start the inning. Junior DaQueta Johnson reached on a passed ball to load the bases for senior Kristen Schell (San Diego, Calif.), who laid down the perfect squeeze bunt, scoring sophomore Ashley Hall (Noblesville, Ind.) who rounded the bases on a walk, a stolen base and Lilley's hit. A ground ball to second base scored Lilley from third, then a two-out single to left center by Devich, drove in both Johnson and Schell before a strikeout ended the rally with Purdue up 5-0.
Hofstra put a runner on third in the bottom of the inning, but could not break onto the scoreboard. The Boilermakers returned the favor, stranding a runner at third in the fourth.
A fifth-inning single up the middle by junior Erika Peterson (Irvine, Calif.) added another run for Purdue. Peterson's hit drove in Stone, who reached on a fielder's choice and moved to second as Devich walked.
Freshman Katie Mitchell (Crown Point, Ind.) led off the seventh with the first home run of her career to make it 7-0. Freshman Kelly Miller (Indianapolis, Ind.) followed with a bloop double just inside the left field line. Sophomore Tara Palmer picked up the RBI with a single up the middle.
The Pride went down in order in the seventh to end the game.
Purdue scored eight runs on nine hits from nine different players. Hofstra posted five hits in the contest.
Senior Diana LaRiva (Tustin, Calif.) moved to 6-6 on the season with the shutout victory, which included 10 strikeouts. Courtney Oliver was saddled with the loss for the Pride.
With the win, the Boilermakers advanced to the finals of the silver bracket play at the USF/Adidas Invitational, which is slated to begin at noon.