Purdue vs. Marist
Wednesday, March 15 / 5 p.m. ET
Rainbow Wahine Classic / Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium / Honolulu, Hawaii
Purdue vs. Connecticut
Wednesday, March 15 / 7:30 p.m. ET
Rainbow Wahine Classic / Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium / Honolulu, Hawaii
Purdue vs. Harvard
Thursday, March 16 / 8:30 p.m. ET
Rainbow Wahine Classic / Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium / Honolulu, Hawaii
Purdue at Hawaii
Thursday, March 16 / 11 p.m. ET
Rainbow Wahine Classic / Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium / Honolulu, Hawaii
Purdue vs. Harvard
Friday, March 17 / 7 p.m. ET
Rainbow Wahine Classic / Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium / Honolulu, Hawaii
Purdue vs. Marist
Saturday, March 18 / 5 p.m. ET
Rainbow Wahine Classic / Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium / Honolulu, Hawaii
Purdue at Hawaii
Saturday, March 18 / 7 p.m. ET
Rainbow Wahine Classic / Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium / Honolulu, Hawaii
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - With trips to Arizona, North Carolina, California, Florida (twice) and now Hawaii, the Purdue softball team has become expert travelers over the first five-plus weeks of the 2017 season.
When the Boilermakers landed in Honolulu yesterday for the Rainbow Wahine Classic, they had logged more than 16,500 miles in air travel since Feb. 9.
Meanwhile, on the diamond, the Boilermakers have developed into skilled ground travelers ... as in base stealers.
To wit: Purdue has been successful on its last 28 stolen-base attempts - over its last 15 games - dating to Feb. 24. The Boilermakers' win-loss record during that stretch is 6-9, a marked improvement from their 1-8 start.
For the season, the Boilermakers are 38 for 41 in stolen bases. That's an eye-popping 93 percent success rate. Their 38 steals are tops in the Big Ten Conference.
Leading the way are senior Kristen Hoppman (13-13) and sophomore Mallory Baker (10-10), followed by junior Maya Hughes (9-11). Seven Boilermakers have at least one theft. Hoppman leads all Big Ten players and has more than five teams do. Baker ranks third in the conference, while Hughes is tied for fourth.
Hoppman explained Purdue's success thusly: "We work on our reaction time a lot, and it's all about our instincts mixed with our reactions."
The Boilermakers are on pace for 87 stolen bases. They stole 80 last season and were caught 16 times for an 83 percent success rate.
"We want to have power, but we need to have speed and have that be our mojo," head coach Boo De Oliveira said. "Any time you can keep the defense on its toes and not comfortable is an advantage. We are not the fastest team, but we are strategic, picking good situations to run and getting good jumps."
Purdue (7-17) is scheduled to play seven games in four days against four different opponents in the Rainbow Wahine Classic on the island of Oahu: tomorrow against Marist (5 p.m.) and Connecticut (7:30 p.m.), Thursday against Harvard (8:30 p.m. ET) and Hawaii (11 p.m.), Friday against Harvard (7 p.m.), and Saturday against Marist (5 p.m.) and Hawaii (7 p.m.).
Here are the records of the four foes: Marist (9-8), Connecticut (6-10), Harvard (7-3) and Hawaii (15-9).
USF UNDER ARMOUR SHOWCASE REWIND
De Oliveira was waiting for the Boilermakers to put it all together on a consistent basis, and the Boilermakers did so, winning four of five games in Tampa and Clearwater, Florida.
The pitching was particularly precise, as three hurlers combined to fashion a microscopic 1.03 ERA (five earned runs in 34 innings). They allowed merely 20 hits - 19 of them singles - and struck out 20 batters.
Leading the way was sophomore Kaitlynn Moody, who won two games and did not allow an earned run in 20 innings covering three appearances. She completed her two starts, a 3-2 eight-inning victory over Saint Joseph's on March 10 and a 2-0 shutout of Villanova the following day. Moody had 14 strikeouts and issued just four walks.
Sophomore Maddie Damon also authored a shutout, 2-0 over USF on March 10, and senior Katie Johnson went the distance in a 10-2 five-inning verdict over Mount St. Mary's on March 12.
Offensively, junior Kaylah Hampton and freshman Alexa Binckes both batted .429. Binckes had five RBI. Sophomore Mallory Baker drove in four runs and was 3-for-3 in stolen-base attempts.
As a team, Purdue was 10-for-10 on the base paths.
Hoppman had a hit in all five games, batted .357 (5-14), scored three runs, drove in two and stole two bases.
Hughes continues to lead the team with a .390 batting average for the season, and she ranks tied for fifth in the Big Ten with 30 hits.
RAINBOW WAHINE CLASSIC
The five-team tournament gets underway today - Connecticut plays Harvard and Hawaii - and concludes Saturday. All games will be played at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. The host school boasts a 410-195 all-time record in the ballpark, a .678 winning percentage.
"This trip probably is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a lot of the people on our team," De Oliveira said. "It may be a little draining, but we will have wonderful weather, and many of the families are with us. Family is a big part of our program, so it will be good to have them around."
Following this weekend's tournament, the Boilermakers return home and open Big Ten play against Michigan State on March 24 at Bittinger Stadium. Purdue will play seven straight home games before traveling again.
SERIES RECORDS
Purdue vs. Marist: Purdue leads 1-0
Purdue vs. Connecticut: Connecticut leads 1-0
Purdue vs. Harvard: First Meeting
Purdue vs. Hawaii: First Meeting
