May 5, 2013
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A late-inning rally spoiled the Boilermaker softball team's Senior Day celebration, as Iowa dealt Purdue an 8-2 loss in the series and regular season finale on Sunday.
Iowa scored its eight runs on 10 hits and an error, while allowing Purdue two runs on four hits and three errors. The Boilermakers got hits from five different players, but stranded nine runners in the game.
Kayla Massey (17-12) struck out one batter and walked four in the complete-game win for the Hawkeyes. Sophomore Lexy Moore (10-14) struck out one batter in five innings of work in the loss, while freshman Lilly Fecho issued two Ks in two innings of relief action.
Iowa struck first, putting up two runs on a Michelle Zoeller home run in the opening stanza. The two-out long ball scored the Hawkeyes' leadoff batter who had reached on an error.
Purdue got its first baserunner in the second inning as junior Tori Chiodo drew a one-out walk. Chiodo stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before senior Maia Monchek joined her with a two-out walk. A ground ball to the second baseman kept the Boilers from converting on the RBI opportunity.
A walk and a fielding error gave the Boilers runners again in the third, but the Hawkeye defense held. Junior Andie Varsho drew a one-out walk and junior Lindsey Rains reached on the miscue. Varsho was picked off to end the stanza.
The Boilermakers tied the game with a pair of runs on three hits in the fourth inning. Junior Danielle Fletcher and Chiodo led off the inning with singles and were sacrificed into scoring position. Monchek picked up an RBI with a single through the right side, scoring pinch runner MaryBeth Pavlick to put Purdue on the board. Chiodo slid around a tag at the plate on a fielder's choice by senior Erika Petruzzi to knot the score. Monchek and Petruzzi advanced to second and third on a ground out, but another ground ball to first base kept Purdue from taking the lead.
After forcing Iowa to waste a pair of fifth-inning singles, the Boilermakers had a scoring chance as sophomore Ashley Burkhardt singled and stole second in the bottom of the inning. A pop up left her stranded.
The Hawkeyes broke the game open with six runs on six hits in the sixth inning. Two singles and a hit batsman loaded the bases with nobody out. A single up the middle scored two. The remaining runners went to second and third on the throw home, leaving two in scoring position with nobody out as Fecho took over in the circle. The Boilers missed out on a fielder's choice play at the plate, then a pinch hit single up the middle brought in two more runs. A fielder's choice and a ground out helped the Purdue cause, but another single made it 8-2 Iowa. A strikeout finally ended the inning.
Freshman Paris Andrew reached on an error to start the Purdue half of the sixth. She advanced to second on a pair of ground outs, but a third ground ball left the score intact.
The Boilermaker defense turned a double play to cap the top of the seventh, giving the offense a chance for a rally. A fielding error put Rains on base with one out. A fielder's choice play at second base marked the second out of the stanza. Fletcher waited out a nine-pitch at-bat for a walk, but a fielder's choice play cut short the Purdue rally.
The Boilermakers (22-31, 8-15 Big Ten) will return to action at 8 p.m. ET Thursday at the Big Ten Tournament against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. Purdue is the No. 10 seed in the event, which is slated to be played in Lincoln, Neb., May 9-12.