Complete Release in PDF Format
The Slate: Week 13
Boilermaker Softball Stadium ~ West Lafayette, Ind.;
Jane Sage Cowles Stadium ~ Minneapolis, Minn.
Live Stats: purduesports.com
Radio (Wed.): purduesports.com
Video (Fri./Sat.): BTN Plus via BTN2Go.com
Video (Sun.): BTN and BTN2Go; Talent: Lisa Byington & Garland Cooper
Wednesday, April 29: 5 p.m. vs. Indiana State
Promotion: All tickets just $2 as we pack the park for our final home game of 2015.
Friday, May 1: 7 p.m. at Minnesota
Saturday, May 2: 2 p.m. at Minnesota
Sunday, May 3: 2 p.m. at Minnesota
The Book on the Boilermakers
At First Glance: Purdue (29-21, 7-11 Big Ten) wraps up the regular season with four games this week, a Wednesday home game against Indiana State and a three-game road series at Minnesota. The Boilermakers finished the 2014 season with a 27-28-1 overall record, falling in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Purdue returns 11 letterwinners, including three position starters and three pitchers from that team, which earned the No. 6 seed in the tournament after posting a 13-10 record in league play and winning five of its eight conference series. Head coach Kim Schuette is in her second season with the Boilermakers.
Last Time Out: Purdue posted a 2-3 mark last week. The Boilermakers split a Wednesday non-conference doubleheader at Indiana, falling 6-3 in a continuation of the April 8 halted game, but rebounding with 4-3 win in Game 2. The team fell to Illinois on Friday, 9-1 and split extra-inning contests against the Illini on Sunday, taking Game 1 8-7 and falling 8-7 in Game 2 of the twin bill.
Statistically Speaking: First baseman Ashley Burkhardt (.401) leads the Boilermaker bats and a group of seven starters with averages of .250 or better. Burkhardt has driven in a team-best 44 RBI, scored 40 runs, swiped 27 bases and launched nine home runs. Designated player Katie Harrison (.333), third baseman/outfielder Alyssa Koorsen (.327), outfielder Kristen Hoppman (.308), shortstop Paris Andrew (.302), catcher Kaylah Hampton (.296), and outfielder Maya Hughes (.271) round out the group. Hampton has driven in 32 RBI, scored 17 runs and launched eight home runs. Koorsen has scored 32 runs, swiped 15 bases and tallied eight doubles, while Hughes has stolen 21 bases and scored 23 runs. Andrew has scored 25 runs, driven in 28 RBI, stolen nine bases and accounted for two triples and a home run. As a team, the Boilers are batting .291 with 23 home runs and 83 stolen bases.
In the circle, the Boilermaker pitchers are holding foes to a .214 average. Junior Lilly Fecho (18-14) has posted a 2.07 ERA with 264 strikeouts, five shutouts and a save in 209 innings of work, while allowing opponents just a .198 average. Freshman Gina Snyder (7-2) has struck out 68 batters in 59 innings, while holding foes to a .198 average. Senior Lexy Moore (4-4) has issued 25 strikeouts in 53 innings, while senior Alex Whittemore (0-1) has added seven Ks in 10 innings.
What a Difference a Win Makes ...
If the Boilermakers top Indiana State on Wednesday ....
- They will move to 30-21 on the season, reaching the 30-win plateau for the 15th time in program history.
- They will have won their last seven games against the Sycamores, including both in 2015.
- They will finish the season with a 10-6 record at the newly minted Boilermaker Softball Stadium.
- They will move to 227-215-2 all-time in the month of April, including an 8-4 mark on April 24.
Series Information
Indiana State (Purdue leads the series 15-4): The Sycamores won two of the first three contests in the series which began on March 25, 1994, but Purdue has dominated the series since, winning 13 of the last 15 meetings. The Boilermakers won eight straight from 19995 to 1998. ISU took the next two contests, but Purdue has won the last six, the most recent being an 8-0 victory on March 6 at the Tennessee Invitational in Knoxville, Tenn.
Minnesota (Minnesota leads the series 24-21): The Golden Gophers took the lead in the series with three victories in the four 2014 contests. Minnesota won 16 of the first 26 meetings in the series which began on April 29, 1995, including four straight from April 4, 1998, to April 3, 1999. Purdue kicked off a five-game win streak on April 24, 2005, which lasted through the 2007 season. The Gophers took the next two contests, but the Boilers responded with three of the next four. The teams split the next four meetings, knotting the series at 21-21, but the Gophers finished off the 2014 season with three wins, including a 6-3 victory in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, to surge ahead.
Scouting the Sycamores
At First Glance: The Indiana State Sycamores (20-26) wrap up a five-game homestand on Tuesday against Indiana before travelling to West Lafayette to face the Boilermakers on Wednesday. ISU returns 11 letterwinners, including eight starters and two pitchers, from the 2014 team, which posted a 27-26 record, and finished 10th in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Sycamores are coached by Shane Bouman, who is in his third season with the team.
Last Time Out: Indiana State went 2-2 last week, falling to IUPUI 10-3 on Tuesday, topping Loyola 7-6 in 10 innings on Wednesday and splitting a Sunday doubleheader with Southern Illinois (W 5-1, L 7-6 in 8 innings).
Statistically Speaking: First baseman Megan Stone (.397) leads the a group of eight starters batting .250 or better. Stone has driven in a team-leading 39 RBI with 15 doubles and 10 home runs, while scoring 33 runs and stealing eight bases. Shortstop Kassie Brown (.358), outfielder Erika Crissman (.354), designated player Mary Turitto (.320), second baseman Aubre Carpenter (.297), catcher Brooke Riemenschneid (.267), outfieler Alexa Cavin (.261) and outfielder Rylee Holland (.258) round out the group. Brown has scored 25 runs and stolen six bases, while Crissman has added 24 RBI, 10 doubles and nine steals. Turitto has lifted three home runs and added nine doubles and 24 RBI. Carpenter has contributed 23 runs and eight stolen bases, while Cavin boasts a team-leading nine steals and three triples. As a team, Indiana State is batting .287 with 18 home runs and 55 steals.
Junior Taylor Lockwood (13-12), senior Yvette Alvarez (4-12) and freshman Abby Klopp (2-2) have split time in the circle. Lockwood has struck out 117 batters and boasts a shutout and two saves in 162 innings of work. Alvarez has issued 69 Ks and picked up three saves in 105 innings of action, while Klopp has struck out four batters and earned a save in 41 innings. The staff has allowed foes a .306 average and 54 home runs.
Getting to Know the Golden Gophers
At First Glance: The No. 13 Minnesota Golden Gophers (41-8) play a Wednesday doubleheader at Wisconsin before welcoming the Boilermakers to Minneapolis to wrap up the regular season. Minnesota returns 16 letterwinners from the 2014 team, which posted a 44-12 record, and finished third in Big Ten play. The Golden Gophers are coached by Jessica Allister, who is in her fifth season with the team.
Last Time Out: Minnesota has won 11 of its last 12 games heading into Wednesday's doubleheader, including a 4-1 record last week. The Gophers split a Wednesday doubleheader with North Dakota State, falling 5-4 in Game 1 and rebounding with an 8-0 five-inning run-rule win. The team swept a three-game weekend series with Iowa winning 8-0 in five innings twice on Saturday and 9-0 in five innings on Sunday.
Statistically Speaking: Second baseman Danielle Parlich (.401) leads the group of nine starters all of whom are batting nearly .300. Parlich has driven in 34 RBI, accounted for four triples and two home runs, scored 35 runs and swiped nine bases. Outfielder Erica Meyer (.376), pitcher/designated player Sara Groenewegen (.372), first baseman Kaitlyn Richardson (.370), third baseman Sam Macken (.366), infielder Tyler Walker (.356), outfielder Hannah Granger (.356), outfielder Paige Palkovich (.342) and catcher Taylor LeMay (.295) round out the group. Granger has launched a team-best 11 home runs and driven in 45 RBI, while Groenewegen, Richardson and Walker have added 10 long balls. Walker has driven in a team-best 50 RBI, scored 43 runs and stolen 11 bases. Macken has scored a team-leading 50 runs, launched six home runs and stolen 13 bases. Meyer has scored 44 runs, lifted seven home runs and stolen a team-best 14 bases. As a team, Minnesota is batting .350 with 74 home runs and 92 stolen bases.
Groenewegen (25-4) leads the Gophers in the circle with 285 strikeouts, eight shutouts and two saves in 180 innings, while limiting foes to a .169 average. Freshman Kylie Stober (8-2) has added 56 Ks and a save in 62 innings, while junior lefty Nikki Anderson has struck out 44 batters in 63 innings, including a shutout and two saves.
In The Nation
The Boilermakers rank among the nation's top 50 in four statistical categories: triples per game (11th with 0.32), stolen bases per game (28th with 1.66), earned run average (33rd with 2.59) and fielding percentage (40th with .970).
Individually, junior pitcher Lilly Fecho ranks among the top 50 in four categories: strikeouts (8th with 264), strikeouts per seven innings (26th with 8.8), wins (42nd with 18), and hits allowed per seven innings (44th with 5.08). Freshman pitcher Gina Snyder ranks 43rd in hits allowed per seven innings (5.07) and 48th in strikeouts per seven innings (8.0). Senior first baseman Ashley Burkhardt is 28th in sacrifice flies (4) and 42nd in stolen bases per game (0.54).
Season Strikeout Leader
Junior Lilly Fecho snapped the Purdue season record for strikeouts on April 10, posting six strikeouts against Nebraska, upping her tally to 219 Ks in 2015, three ahead of Suzie Rzegocki's tally of 216 in 2010. Fecho's record total stands at 264 with four regular season games left.
Fecho's record tally combined with the pitching staff's other 100 Ks from Gina Snyder, Lexy Moore and Alex Whittemore, the Boilers have set a new team standard for season strikeouts with 364 thus far, surpassing the 2004 team's total of 341.
Going Three
The Boilermakers tied the school game record for triples with three in Game 2 against Rutgers, March 28. The three triple effort - one each by Ashley Burkhardt, Alyssa Koorsen and Kristen Hoppman - matches two previous efforts: March 6, 1994, vs. UNC-Wilmington and Feb. 25, 2012, vs. Niagara.
Purdue has tallied 16 triples thus far in 2015, two away from the Purdue season record for triples, 18 in 1994, 2010 and 2012).
In A Season
Junior Lilly Fecho has become Purdue's season strikeout leader with 264, surpassing Suzie Rzegocki's tally of 216 from 2010.
Senior Ashley Burkhardt tied the fifth-place mark of 44 RBI held by Jesse Jones (2003), DaQueta Johnson (2005) and Candace Curtis (2008). She is two away from Johnson's 2006 tally of 46 and three away from Heidi Foster's 2002 total of 47. Burkhardt also ranks fifth in sacrifice flies, having lifted four so far in 2015, matching her own fifth place tally from 2014 and that of Heidi Foster in 2003.
As a team, the Boilers have been hit by 35 pitches, ranking fourth on that season listing, two behind the 2005 team's tally of 37 and five behind the 2013 team's second place tally of 39.
In A Career
Senior first baseman Ashley Burkhardt has lifted eight sacrifice flies in her Purdue career, ranking tied for fourth on the Boilermakers all-time listing, matching Jennifer Blasnick (1994-97). She needs just one more to match Jesse Jones (2000-03) and Tricia Lilley (2003-06) for second (9). Burkhardt needs three more RBI to tie for fifth on that listing (120).
Junior pitcher Lilly Fecho is approaching or moving up the career top five in a few categories. She ranks third in strikeouts (557), after surpassing Sheryl Scheve (1996-98)'s tally of 448, Leighann Burke (2000-2003)'s 545 and Brooke Baker (2004-2007)'s 551 earlier this season. Fecho also has thrown 58 complete games in her Purdue career, ranking third on the all-time listing. In 2015, she has moved ahead of Sheryl Scheve's tally of 53 from 1996-98, Diana LaRiva's 44 (2003-06) and Leighann Burke's 41 (2000-03). In addition, the Carol Stream, Ill., native has pitched 578.1 innings, moving her into fifth place on that listing, just ahead of Scheve's 578.0.