March 18, 2006
TAMPA, Fla. - Purdue earned the No. 1 seed from its pool after posting a 3-0 record including an 11-2 win over George Mason on Saturday morning. The Boilermakers continue action at the Speedline Invitational with a 4 p.m. contest against a yet-to-be determined opponent.
The Boilermakers broke out to an early lead, putting up four runs on four hits in the opening stanza. Sophomore Ashley Hall (Noblesville, Ind.) sent a chopper to short then stole second before being joined on base by senior Tricia Lilley (North Canton, Ohio) who hit a sharp single at the third baseman. A wild pitch moved Hall to third, then Lilley stole second to put both in scoring position for junior DaQueta Johnson (Ontario, Calif.). Johnson made good on the RBI opportunity with a single to left, plating both runners. Johnson moved to second on a ground ball, before senior Becky Stone (Belleville, Ind.) reached on a two-out walk. Both runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, before scoring on a double to right center by junior Erika Peterson (Irvine, Calif.).
Hall singled and stole second and third with two outs in the second, but was unable to score.
George Mason got one run back on a hit and an error in the bottom of the second. Paige Miller singled to right then scored on a fielding error by the right fielder two batters later.
The Patriots added another unearned run in the third. Amanda Bach reached on a fielder's choice then went to third as Emily Miller sent a double into deep right field. Bach scored as the first baseman misplayed a ground ball, before recovering to get the out at first.
Purdue expanded its lead to 9-2 with five runs on six hits in the fourth. Back-to-back doubles by senior Lauren Devich (Bloomington, Ind.) and sophomore Tiffany Krcelich (Granger, Ind.) accounted for one run. Lilley then hit a sacrifice fly to right with bases loaded to score Krcelich. Senior Staci Falzon (Carlsbad, Calif.) who singled, and Hall, who reached on a fielder's choice, came around to score on a double up the left field line by Johnson. The Purdue hit barrage prompted a pitching change for GMU as Rachel Hastings relieved starter Amber Straube in the circle. Senior Kristen Schell (San Diego, Calif.) took advantage of the switch with a single to short center field, which moved pinch runner Christina Trauger (Santa Rosa, Calf.) to third. Trauger then scored on a wild pitch. The Boilermakers stranded pinch runner Katie Mitchell (Crown Point, Ind.) at third after a fly out and a fielder's choice.
Falzon singled through the left side and stole second in the fifth before scoring a two-base fielding error by the shortstop that put Lilley on second with two outs. A single up the middle by Trauger brought Lilley home to make it 11-2, before a strikeout ended the inning.
A pair of hits and fielder's choice gave GMU runners at the corners with two outs in the fifth, but a strikeout sealed the Purdue run-rule victory.
The Boilermakers put up 11 runs on 15 hits in the game, including two-hit performances by Falzon, Hall, Johnson, Stone and Krcelich. GMU scored two runs on five hits and three Purdue miscues.
Junior Brooke Baker (Schererville, Ind.) moved to 10-7 on the season with the complete game shutout, which included five strikeouts. Amber Straube was charged with the loss for George Mason.