April 14, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS - The Boilermaker softball team racked up 11 runs on 10 hits in an 11-4 victory over Minnesota to complete the series sweep. Junior Ashley Hall (Noblesville, Ind.) and sophomore Katie Mitchell (Crown Point, Ind.) each tallied three hits in the game, while sophomore Alicia Spack (West Lafayette, Ind.) added two.
Senior Brooke Baker (Schererville, Ind.) picked up her 18th win of the season after tossing 4.2 innings of relief. Starting pitcher Katie Dolan was saddled with the loss for Minnesota.
As the designated visiting team, the Golden Gophers batted first and managed a run on two hits in the opening stanza. Megan Higginbotham led off with a bunt single and advanced to second on a ground out. A Mandy Valadez double toed the left line, plating the run.
The Boilermakers loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning. Mitchell led off with a single up the middle. Hall was hit by a pitch, then the two moved into scoring position on a passed ball. Freshman Kelsey Haupert (Olympia, Wash.) filled the hole at first with a one-out walk. Freshman Jenna Alexander (Rancho Murieta, Calif.) put Purdue on the board with a double to right, driving in both Mitchell and Hall. Spack made it 4-1 with a double up the left field line, scoring Haupert and Alexander. Senior Erika Peterson (Irvine, Calif.) joined her with a walk and sophomore Christina Trauger (reached on a fielder's choice to fill the bases once again. A ground ball to second base, however, prevented Purdue from adding to its lead.
Hall led off the second with a single up the middle. Sophomore Candace Curtis (Danville, Calif.) laid down the sacrifice as Hall raced toward third on the play. She was initially called safe, but the call was overturned by the plate umpire for the inning's second out.
Higginbotham got one run back for the Gophers with a one-out solo home run in the third. Valadez tied the score with a two-run home run two batters later. The runs prompted a Purdue pitching change as Baker took over in the circle for sophomore Ashley DiDomenico (Youngstown, Ohio).
The Boilermakers loaded the bases with two outs on a hit by pitch, a fielder's choice and a walk in the bottom of the third. Mitchell lasered a single at the shortstop, scoring Peterson from third and Trauger from second. Briana Hassett took over in the circle for the Gophers, but could not stop the scoring as Hall sent a single into right center to drive in senior Catherine Zaworski (Prospect Heights, Ill.) from third and make it 7-4 Purdue.
Purdue tacked on four runs on three hits and an error in the fifth to boost the team's advantage to 11-4. Trauger started things off with a one-out infield single. Zaworski reached on a fielding error by the first baseman on a sacrifice attempt. Mitchell followed with a single up the middle, scoring Trauger from second and moving Zaworski to third. Hall added two more runs with a double to center. A ground ball to second base pushed Hall to third. Haupert drew a two-out walk, but kept on running towards second. The ensuing run down, which was unsuccessful, allowed Hall to score.
The Gophers put one on in the sixth, but could not score, then went down in order in the seventh to wrap up the Purdue win.
The Boilermakers look to build on their four-game win streak when they take on the Wisconsin Badgers in a Sunday doubleheader.