Feb. 17, 2007
LAFAYETTE, La. - The Boilermaker softball team put together a four-run seventh-inning rally, but it was not enough to overcome Mississippi Saturday night. The Rebels won the game 6-4.
Senior DaQueta Johnson (Ontario, Calif.) was hit by a pitch to start the Boilermakers' seventh-inning push. Pinch runner Christina Trauger (Santa Rosa, Calif.) went to second on a passed ball before scoring as a fielding error by the second baseman put sophomore Alicia Spack (West Lafayette, Ind.) aboard. A single by sophomore Katie Mitchell (Crown Point, Ind.) put runners at first and second for freshman Jenna Alexander (Rancho Murieta, Calif.). Alexander made good on the RBI opportunity with a double to right center, plating both runs. The Rebels put Becky Nye on the mound in hopes of stopping the Purdue effort, but a fly out advanced pinch runner Catherine Zaworski (Prospect Heights, Ill.) to third, setting up an RBI single by junior Ashley Hall (Noblesville, Ind.). A pop up cut the rally short.
Purdue scored four runs on five hits, led by Hall's 2-for-3 effort, while Ole Miss managed six runs on eight hits and a Boilermaker error.
Hall led off the game with a double to left, but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple.
Lisa Conchos put Ole Miss on the board with a first-inning solo home run to right center.
Senior Erika Peterson (Irvine, Calif.) walked and stole second in the following inning, but could not take advantage of the RBI opportunity. Johnson (Ontario, Calif.) tallied Purdue's second hit of the game with a two-out single through the left side in the fourth, but could not score.
The Rebels had two on with one out in the fourth, before center fielder Ashley Barr (Meridian, Idaho) snagged a fly ball and gunned down Conchos who was cheating away from second to end the inning.
Mississippi pulled away with five runs on four hits and an error in the fifth. A wild pitch accounted for the first run. An RBI single by pinch hitter Michelle May added another, before a botched fielder's choice sacrifice bunt allowed three runs to score.
Mary Jane Callahan (1-3) tossed six and a third innings en route to the victory for Ole Miss, while Nye earned the save. Sophomore Ashley DiDomenico (Youngstown, Ohio) was charged with the loss for the Boilermakers after pitching four and a third innings.
Purdue (1-8) returns to action at 8 a.m. Sunday when they take on the Iowa State Cyclones.