Feb. 17, 2007
LAFAYETTE, La. - The hot bats of No. 16 Louisiana-Lafayette dealt a 10-2 loss to the Boilermaker softball team on Saturday morning. The loss was Purdue's second in as many games against Top 20 opponents.
The Ragin' Cajuns put the Boilermakers in a hole early with six runs on six hits and an error in the bottom of the first. ULL pitcher Holly Tankersley helped her own cause with a two-run home run that put the Cajuns on the board. An RBI double and two RBI singles made it a five-run game, before a botched throw on a stole base attempt made it 6-0 in favor of the home team.
Sophomore Alicia Spack (West Lafayette, Ind.) gave Purdue its first hit of the game, sending a two-out single into left field.
Both teams were quiet on offense from that point until the top of the fifth, when the Boilermakers posted two runs on two hits and a Cajun miscue. Junior Ashley Hall (Noblesville, Ind.) put Purdue on the board with a two-out, two-run single through the right side. The base hit plated Spack, who reached on a throwing error, and pinch runner Amy Butcher (Decatur, Ind.), who was on base for Jenna Alexander (Rancho Murieta, Calif.) who singled. A wild pitch had advanced both into scoring position before Hall came to the plate.
Tankersley launched her second home run of the game, a shot to center field, in the fifth to counter the Boilermaker rally.
The Purdue offense was unable to take advantage of their lone base runner of the sixth inning as sophomore Katie Mitchell (Crown Point, Ind.) was left stranded after reaching on a two-out walk.
The Ragin' Cajuns sealed the run-rule victory with three runs on three hits in the bottom of the sixth. Pinch hitter Lana Bowers doubled in a run. A Meagan Godwin two-run shot to left center ended the contest.
Purdue scored two runs on three hits, while ULL put up 10 runs on 10 hits and two Boilermaker miscues.
Tankersley moved to 5-1 on the season with the complete game victory, while Baker (0-6) was saddled with the loss despite striking out five Ragin' Cajun players.
The Boilermakers (1-7) look to rebound when they face Mississippi at 7 p.m. (CST).