May 11, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Boilermaker softball team tallied its first ever postseason victory with a 4-1 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday afternoon. The victory, Purdue's first Big Ten Tournament win in six tries, propels the team into Friday night's semifinal game with No. 25 Ohio State. First pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m.
The Boilermakers scored four runs on four hits and an error, while allowing the Hawkeyes one run on seven hits.
Senior Brooke Baker (Schererville, Ind.) posted her 26th win of the season, setting a new single-season mark, while striking out four in the complete game effort. Brittany Weil (18-8) was saddled with the loss for Iowa.
Junior Ashley Hall (Noblesville, Ind.) hit a one-out single to the shortstop in the opening stanza to account for the team's first hit. Hall went to second on a sacrifice by sophomore Candace Curtis (Danville, Calif.), was left stranded by a fly ball to right.
The Hawkeyes posted a double, but stranded the runner in the bottom of the inning.
Purdue scored four runs on two hits and an error in the second. The Boilermakers loaded the bases with one out in the second as freshman Jenna Alexander (Rancho Murieta, Calif.) doubled to no-man's land in short center field, freshman Ashley Barr (Meridian, Idaho) walked and senior Erika Peterson (Irvine, Calif.) was hit by a pitch. Sophomore Christina Trauger (Santa Rosa, Calif.) took over running duties for Alexander following the double. Pinch hitter Alicia Spack (West Lafayette, Ind.) fouled off several pitches before picking up the RBI walk, plating Trauger from third. With the bases juiced, sophomore Katie Mitchell (Crown Point, Ind.) singled through the left side, plating Barr and Peterson. Spack scored as the throw home by the left fielder sailed high. A fielder's choice and ground out kept the score at 4-0 to end the inning.
Iowa tallied a lead-off single in the third and sacrifice the runner to second, but a pair of ground outs kept the Hawkeyes from converting on the scoring opportunity.
The Hawkeyes snapped Purdue's shutout bid with a run on three hits in the fourth. With runners at first and second, pinch hitter Katie Brown singled up the middle to put Iowa on the board. A fly out stranded two runners.
Iowa put a runner on first in the fifth, but Curtis was able to snag a high liner at shortstop and turn it into Purdue's 26th double play of the year.
Peterson drew a lead off walk in the seventh. Pinch runner Traci Lippold (Greenwood, Ind.) moved to second on a ground out, but could not make it in to score.
The Hawkeyes went down in order on a strikeout and two fly outs to seal the victory for the Boilermakers.
Purdue continues its postseason action at 7:30 p.m. when it faces off with No. 25 Ohio State in the second semifinal game of the Big Ten Tournament.