March 26, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Boilermaker softball team experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat within a four-hour span Thursday afternoon, trouncing the Bowling Green State Falcons 17-2, before seeing a come-back effort fall short in an 8-7 loss in Game 2 of the doubleheader.
In Game 1, Purdue scored early and often, racking up 17 runs on 14 hits and four BGSU errors, while allowing the Falcons just two runs on seven hits and two errors. The 17 runs were the most for the Boilermakers since the team downed IPFW 19-0 on April 8, 2003. Junior Liane Horiuchi went 4-for-4 with a single, a double, a triple and four RBI. Senior Candace Curtis, senior Katie Mitchell and sophomore Beth Cinadr each added two hits as well.
Senior Ashley DiDomenico (1-0) picked up her first win of the year, striking out two in three innings of relief, while Hayley Wiemer was saddled with the loss after giving up four runs in the opening stanza. Sophomore Suzie Rzegocki started the game for Purdue and threw two shutout innings before exiting. Melissa Bott pitched the final four and two thirds innings for BGSU and struck out four.
The Boilermakers racked up four runs on five hits in the opening stanza. Curtis put Purdue on the board doubling Horiuchi in from second, after a single and a steal. Mitchell singled putting two on for junior Jenna Alexander, who delivered with a double to right center, plating two. Cinadr made it 4-0 with a double to right, driving in Alexander and prompting a Falcon pitching change. The new pitcher, Bott forced a ground and strike out to get out of the inning.
Purdue then tacked on five more runs on two hits and two errors in the third. A pair of walks and a sacrifice loaded the bases for senior Christina Trauger, who scored one with a single to center field. Senior Kelly Miller reached on a fielder's choice, but a bad throw home by the second baseman, allowed a Boilermaker run. Horiuchi made it 9-0 with a bases-clearing double off the wall in right center.
The Falcons got one run back in the bottom of the third, combining three hits and two errors for a score. The Falcons put two aboard on a single and an error by the pitcher. A Melissa West single to center field followed, but the Boilermakers recorded an out on the play as the runner at second tried to score. With runners at first and second, Hayley Weimer singled up the middle.. The center fielder misplayed the ball allowing the run to score. A ground out prevented further scoring.
The Boilermakers added two runs on three hits in the fourth to make it 11-0. Mitchell doubled to start the inning. Cinadr followed with a single toward second base, pushing Mitchell to third. Cinadr then stole second, setting the table for junior Kaity Stratten, who sent a pinch-hit single down the right field line, to bring Mitchell home. Stratten then swiped second before A grounder to second base by Trauger pushed the second run across. A strikeout stranded two.
Six runs on three hits and an error in the fifth rounded out the Purdue scoring. Horiuchi walked and stole second, before scoring on a double by Curtis. Freshman Katie Hackney then drew a walk to put two on with nobody out. Curtis scored as the center field dropped a fly ball, which put Mitchell on first. Senior Alicia Spack cleared the bases by lifting a three-run shot to dead center field. A fielder's choice and a ground out gave Purdue a runner at second with two outs, when Horiuchi singled to left to drive in the final run.
Bott helped her own cause with a solo shot to lead off Bowling Green's half of the fifth, but it was not enough to stop a mercy-rule win by the Boilermakers.
Game 2 was a far different battle. The Boilermakers led the game 4-0 after two innings, only to see the advantage slip away as the Falcons rattled off eight runs on eight hits in the third. From that point on, Purdue played catch up, tallying a run in each of the final three stanzas and even putting the tying run aboard in the seventh, but the come-back win was not to be.
Purdue scored its seven runs on 12 hits and two BGSU errors, while allowing the Falcons eight runs on 10 hits. Horicuihi, Mitchell, Alexander and Trauger each posted two hits for the Boilermakers. Hayley Wiemer (3-11) earned the complete-game victory for Bowling Green, while senior Dana Alcocer (2-5) was saddled with the loss after pitching the opening two and one third innings. Rzegocki struck out seven and allowed just two hits in three and two thirds innings of relief.
Horiuchi singled to start the game and stole second before being joined by Curtis, who reached on a fielding error by the shortstop. A sacirifce pushed both into scoring position, then Mitchell supplied a single through the right side, plating Horiuchi, but a fielding error by the right fielder allowed Curtis to score as well.
The Falcons stranded two runners after two hits in the bottom of the inning, bring Purdue to the plate where once again the team put up two runs. Trauger hit a one-out single toward the pitcher and moved to second on a ground out, before coming home on Horiuchi's double to right center. Curtis followed with a single up the middle, bringing Hoiruchi in to score.
Bowling Green then shelled Alcocer for eight runs on eight hits. A Melissa West RBI single up the middle put the Falcons on the board, after a single and a wild pitch. Wiemer then supplied a two-run shot to right center. Three singles loaded the bases, then a walk plated a fourth run, tying the score. A pop up accounted for the first out, but another walk made it 5-4 Falcons and prompted the Purdue pitching change. Rzegocki entered and allowed two hits, which scored three runs, before striking out two to get out of the inning.
The Boilermakers stranded a runner in the fourth, before managing a run on two hits in the fifth. Junior Ashley Barr drove in the run with a single to left center with runners at first and second. Mitchell, the lead runner, scored on the play. A strikeout then stranded two.
Purdue capitalized on BGSU miscues in the sixth. Horiuchi reached on a fielder's choice, stole second before advancing home on a pair of passed balls. Cinadr followed with a single through the left side, but could not score.
Rzegocki sat down 10 batters in a row, striking out seven before allowing a sixth-inning walk. She recovered, however, by forcing a liner back to herself.
Alexander kept hope alive for the Boilermakers, leading off the seventh with a solo shot to left. Senior Alicia Spack then drew a walk and pinch runner Molly Garst was sacrificed to second. A fly out and a ground ball to third base, kept the tying run from scoring, sewing up the BGSU win.
Purdue (17-9) returns to action at 2 p.m. Saturday, when the team plays host to the Minnesota Golden Gophers. It is Breast Cancer Awareness Day at the Varsity Softball Complex and fans are asked to wear pink to support the cause.