May 16, 2008
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LOS ANGELES - In its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Purdue softball team struggled to find any offense in its 4-1 loss to No. 20 Nevada Friday afternoon.
The Boilermakers next game will be at 5:30 on Saturday between the loser of Cal State Fullerton and UCLA.
Purdue could only muster three hits against Wolf Pack sophomore Katie Holverson, who moved to 21-6 with the victory. Boilermaker freshman Suzie Rzegocki (15-9), who began to find her rhythm once the game wore on, suffered the loss for Purdue.
After a scoreless top half of the first inning, Purdue quickly found itself in some trouble in the bottom half. After a single by leadoff hitter Noelle Micka and a walk to Vanessa Briones, Nevada designated player Britton Murdock took Rzegocki deep to left field to give the Wolf Pack a quick 3-0 lead.
With the second inning going without a run, Purdue tried to mount a comeback in the third. With one out in the top half, senior Ashley Hall walked and reached second on a Kelly Miller sacrifice. Candace Curtis then stepped to the plate and poked a Holverson pitch into short right field, which scored Hall and put Purdue on the board.
Aside from the third inning, Holverson kept Purdue in check. She struck out eight and walked only three.
"She did her job, bottom line; we didn't adjust to her," coach Kim Maher said. "We weren't being aggressive and we weren't attacking the ball the way we were capable of doing."
Nevada would respond with a run in the bottom half of the fourth inning. With one out, Rzegocki hit Wolf Pack centerfielder Sarah Hunt. Hunt would eventually score the final run of the game on a single by fellow outfielder Brittany Puzey.
"I think we played nervous and we let it get the best of us," Curtis said. "We didn't find our rhythm throughout the game and we didn't bounce back the way we could have.
Rzegocki improved following the first frame where she gave up three runs on three hits and a walk. In the final six innings, Rzegocki surrendered four hits and four walks. She struck out three in the game. She received plenty of help on the defensive end as well, with Hall assisting on five plays and leftfielder Ashley Barr made a catch against the fence down the left field line in foul territory.
After not playing up to their potential in their first game of the tournament, and now just one more loss away from ending their season, the Boilermakers hope they can come together Saturday.
"We need come out like we have nothing to lose and with something to prove," Curtis said. "We know we are a lot better and we can do a lot more things on the field than what we were doing today."
Purdue's next game will air live on ESPNU and will be broadcast on WSHY 1410 AM and purduesports.com.