April 4, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue softball team won its 11th-straight contest against in-state foe Ball State, posting a 7-0 win on Tuesday afternoon. The Boilermakers racked up 10 hits in the contest, while a trio of pitchers combined for a no-hitter. Seventeen different players got in on the action for Purdue.
"Our team came out ready to play today," head coach Kim Maher said. "For a weekday game with all of the distractions that come with it, I thought they did a great job. If we come out the way we did today, with the same attitude, we should have some good performances this weekend. The key is not to play to the level of your competition.
"For us to win, it takes the whole team. We are not going to win off of one person's bat or one person's arm. Everyone did their job today. Some struggled but that is going to happen. It was good to see people come in off the bench and step up."
The Boilermakers got on the board in the first inning combining a fielder's choice, a hit by pitch and a double for a run. Senior Becky Stone (Belleville, Ill.) reached on a fielder's choice, then was joined on base by senior Tricia Lilley (North Canton, Ohio) who took one on the arm for the team. Freshman Katie Mitchell (Crown Point, Ind.) picked up the RBI with a two-out double up the left field line. Junior Erika Peterson (Irvine, Calif.) drew a walk to load the bases, but a foul out left three runners on.
Purdue put a runner in scoring position in the second stanza, but could not add to its lead. Senior Staci Falzon (Carlsbad, Calif.) drew a two-out walk and stole second, but was left stranded by a ground ball.
The Cardinals put their first runner on base with an error in the third, but the miscue was nullified by a double play.
Junior DaQueta Johnson sent an RBI single through the left side in the bottom of the third, plating Lilley who led off with a double to left center. The Boilermakers tacked on four more runs in the inning on three hits, a walk and a fielder's choice, while also posting four stolen bases. Pinch runner Kelli Miller (Indianapolis, Ind.) went to second as Mitchell walked, then the duo pulled off a double steal to move into scoring position. Peterson hit an infield single to load the bases for senior Lauren Devich (Bloomington, Ind.). Devich reached on a fielder's choice, but two runs scored as the third baseman's throw home sailed wide of the plate. Freshman Christina Trauger (Santa Rosa, Calif.) tallied an infield single, putting runners at first and second after an out at the plate. Devich and Trauger registered a double steal moving both into scoring position. Falzon made good on the RBI opportunity with a single up the middle, scoring both runners. A ground ball ended the inning after Purdue batted through the order.
Sophomore Melissa Burns (Miami, Fla.) took over on the mound to start the fourth inning and struck out four in her two-inning stay there. Only one batter reached on her watch, as an error by the third baseman put one aboard in the fifth, but Burns responded with a pair of strikeouts to nullify the runner.
Junior Brooke Baker (Schererville, Ind.) entered the game in the sixth inning and sat the Cardinals down in order in both the sixth and seventh inning, striking out two.
The Boilermakers padded their lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it 7-0. Junior Catherine Zaworski, who entered the game to play center field in the fourth, started things off with a single up the middle. She then went to second on a sacrifice by sophomore Tara Palmer (Pearland, Texas) and stole third, before scoring on a single through the left side by freshman Candace Curtis (Danville, Calif.).
Purdue scored seven runs on 10 hits. Nine different batters had hits for the Boilermakers, led by Mitchell's 2-for-2 outing. Burns (2-0) earned the victory in the circle, while Laura Masch was saddled with the loss for Ball State after tossing the opening two innings.
The combined no-hitter was just the second of its kind in Purdue history and the 13th overall no-hitter by Boilermaker hurlers.
"Sometimes your team plays off the tempo of the pitcher and when the pitcher comes out excited, with a fire behind them, the team senses that and responds," Maher said. "All three of our pitchers were hitting their spots today. Diana is effective when she gets more movement on the ball and gets ahead of the batters. She came out ready to go and did that today. Then Mel came out and did her job as well. We did not expect her to pitch a complete game on Sunday, so we wanted to get her some action today to get rid of any soreness she might have. We also wanted to get Brooke some more innings in before the weekend."
The Boilermakers (22-18) return to action at 3 p.m. Friday when they take on the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing, Mich. Live stats for the game will be available on www.purduesports.com.