April 6, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker softball team braved the cold and wind on Friday and played the No. 8 Northwestern Wildcats to a 2-1 contest in a pitchers' dual. The Wildcats plated two runs on seven hits, while Purdue managed a run on three hits including a solo home run by freshman Kelsey Haupert (Olympia, Wash.).
Eileen Canney (15-7) struck out 17 batters en route to the complete game victory, while senior Brooke Baker (Schererville, Ind.) K'ed five Wildcats in the contest.
Sophomore Candace Curtis (Danville, Calif.) tallied the game's first hit with a two-out single up the middle in the bottom of the first.
The Boilermakers put two on with two outs in the second on a pair of walks. Freshman Kaity Stratten (Bloomington, Ind.) walked with one out, then moved to second as sophomore Christina Trauger (Santa Rosa, Calif.) drew a two-out free pass. A strikeout left both stranded.
The Wildcats threatened in the third, loading the bases on a walk and two errors, but the Boilermaker defense worked out of the jam.
Northwestern broke onto the scoreboard in the fourth as Jessica Rigas sent a two-run home run over the left field wall. The long ball drove in Erin Dyer, who drew a one-out walk. The Wildcats also tallied a double in the inning, but couldn't add to their lead.
The Boilermakers got one run back in the bottom of the inning as Haupert launched her seventh home run of the season to lead off the stanza.
Northwestern used a pair of hits and a ground out to put runners in scoring position in the fifth. The Boilermaker defense forced a fielder's choice and caught a base runner away from third to double-up the Wildcats on the play.
Freshman Ashley Barr (Meridian, Idaho) reached on a bunt single to start the home half of the sixth, but Purdue could not bring her home.
Stratten drew a one-out walk in the seventh, giving the Boilermakers hope in the final stanza, but it was not to be as a pair of strikeouts sealed the NU win.
The Boilermakers (19-25-1, 1-4 Big Ten) will have another shot at the ranked Wildcats when the teams meet at noon Saturday.