April 8, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - A fourth-inning triple accounted for the lone run of the game in a 1-0 decision between the Michigan State Spartans and the Boilermaker softball team. Purdue looks to bounce back from the sweep in Sunday doubleheader with Michigan. The contests will be televised on Comcast Local Television in Detroit.
Sophomore Tiffany Krcelich (Granger, Ind.) drew a one-out walk in Purdue's half of the first inning, then advanced to third on a sacrifice and a passed ball, but was left stranded by a ground ball to second base.
A Nikki Nicosia triple up the left field line put MSU on the board in the fourth inning. The hit plated Caitlin Mahoney who singled and was sacrificed over to second. A fly out limited the Spartans to one run in the stanza.
The Boilermakers posted their first hit in the fifth inning as junior DaQueta Johnson (Ontario, Calif.) singled to right center. Freshman Katie Mitchell (Crown Point, Ind.) followed with a single through the left side, moving pinch runner Kelly Miller (Indianapolis, Ind.) to second, but a strike out and ground out kept Purdue from breaking into the runs column.
A pair of Spartan errors and a stolen base put Boilermakers at second and third with two outs in the sixth, but a strikeout left Purdue empty once again. Senior Becky Stone (Belleville, Ind.) reached and went to second on an error by the left fielder, before moving to third as senior Tricia Lilley (North Canton, Ohio) reached on a fielding error by the first baseman. he co
Both teams went down in order in the seventh to end the game.
Purdue tallied two hits in the game, one by Johnson and one by Mitchell, while MSU scored one run on three hits. Lesley Noel (7-4) earned the complete-game victory for MSU, while sophomore Melissa Burns (2-1) was saddled with the loss despite allowing just three hits and striking out six for Purdue.
The Boilermakers (22-20, 2-4 Big Ten) return to action at noon Sunday in a doubleheader with the Michigan Wolverines.