March 24, 2017
Purdue has won nine of its last 14 games after beginning the season 3-16.
Game 1
A 10-run third inning propelled the Boilermakers to the 13-6 victory.
The 13 runs are the tied for the second-most in a Big Ten game in school history. Purdue defeated Ohio State 16-2 on April 14, 1999, at the Boilermaker Softball Complex and Penn State 13-4 on March 22, 2014, in University Park.
The Boilermakers banged out a season-high tying 14 hits. Five players had multi-hit games, led by Mallory Baker with a double and two singles. She also drove in a pair of runs. Maya Hughes had two hits, including a triple, and three RBI. Kaylah Hampton blasted her second home run of the season, a colossal clout to begin the scoring in the third-inning onslaught.
In that frame, the Boilermakers sent 15 batters to the plate. They rapped out seven hits and drew five walks. Hughes, Alexa Binckes and Lexi Huffman each had two-run singles. Huffman had two hits, while Baker, Hampton and Brooke Perry reached twice, as well, each via a hit and a walk.
Michigan State led 4-1 prior to the blitzkrieg.
Maddie Damon was the beneficiary of the offense. She earned her team-leading sixth win, working four innings and allowing six runs (five earned) on six hits and two walks with one strikeout.
Kaitlynn Moody blanked the Spartans over the final three innings, scattering one hit and one walk with two strikeouts, to record her first save.
Game 2
Moody continued to stymie Michigan State in the 2-1 nightcap.
The hometown product shut out the Spartans on two hits through five and two-thirds innings, retiring 12 in a row between the second and sixth frames. Moody went the distance, allowing four hits and walking one with three strikeouts. She improved her record to 5-7, dropped her ERA to 2.96 and also reached base three times with two singles and a walk.
Purdue won it when Hughes led off the bottom of the seventh with a deft bunt halfway between the plate and the circle. Michigan State third baseman Kaitlyn Eveland fielded the ball, but her throw sailed past first base and down the right-field line. By the time it was retrieved and relayed, the lightning-quick Hughes, who was credited with a single, sped all the way around the bases.
The Boilermakers scored their first run in the first on an RBI single by Binckes that plated Hughes.
Hughes was 2-for-3 for her team-leading 14th multi-hit game of the season.
Both teams made highlight-reel caliber plays in the field, perhaps none better than Huffman's grab and throw on a squibber between the circle and third base to retire Melanie Baccay in the sixth inning.
The Boilermakers and the Spartans (15-10, 0-2) conclude their three-game series at 1 p.m. ET tomorrow. The teams originally were scheduled to play single games today, tomorrow and Sunday, but with rain in the forecast for Sunday, the slate was modified.
Game 1 Box Score: HTML / PDF / Game 1 Highlights
Game 2 Box Score: HTML / PDF / Game 2 Highlights
Photo Gallery
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The weather-forecast induced softball doubleheader between Purdue and Michigan State on Friday at Bittinger Stadium had something for everyone.
The opener appealed to the offensive minded -- Purdue won 13-6 -- while the nightcap pleased those who prefer pitching, defense and speed -- a 2-1 Boilermaker walkoff. With the sweep, the Boilermakers (12-21, 2-0) opened Big Ten Conference play with two wins for the first time since 2015.
Listen to what Coach Boo had to say after the first two games of opening weekend!#BoilerUp https://t.co/Ni3Cw4t98R
-- 🚂Purdue Softballâš' (@PurdueSoftball) March 25, 2017
Purdue has won nine of its last 14 games after beginning the season 3-16.
Game 1
A 10-run third inning propelled the Boilermakers to the 13-6 victory.
The 13 runs are the tied for the second-most in a Big Ten game in school history. Purdue defeated Ohio State 16-2 on April 14, 1999, at the Boilermaker Softball Complex and Penn State 13-4 on March 22, 2014, in University Park.
The Boilermakers banged out a season-high tying 14 hits. Five players had multi-hit games, led by Mallory Baker with a double and two singles. She also drove in a pair of runs. Maya Hughes had two hits, including a triple, and three RBI. Kaylah Hampton blasted her second home run of the season, a colossal clout to begin the scoring in the third-inning onslaught.
In that frame, the Boilermakers sent 15 batters to the plate. They rapped out seven hits and drew five walks. Hughes, Alexa Binckes and Lexi Huffman each had two-run singles. Huffman had two hits, while Baker, Hampton and Brooke Perry reached twice, as well, each via a hit and a walk.
Michigan State led 4-1 prior to the blitzkrieg.
Maddie Damon was the beneficiary of the offense. She earned her team-leading sixth win, working four innings and allowing six runs (five earned) on six hits and two walks with one strikeout.
Kaitlynn Moody blanked the Spartans over the final three innings, scattering one hit and one walk with two strikeouts, to record her first save.
Game 2
Moody continued to stymie Michigan State in the 2-1 nightcap.
The hometown product shut out the Spartans on two hits through five and two-thirds innings, retiring 12 in a row between the second and sixth frames. Moody went the distance, allowing four hits and walking one with three strikeouts. She improved her record to 5-7, dropped her ERA to 2.96 and also reached base three times with two singles and a walk.
Purdue won it when Hughes led off the bottom of the seventh with a deft bunt halfway between the plate and the circle. Michigan State third baseman Kaitlyn Eveland fielded the ball, but her throw sailed past first base and down the right-field line. By the time it was retrieved and relayed, the lightning-quick Hughes, who was credited with a single, sped all the way around the bases.
The Boilermakers scored their first run in the first on an RBI single by Binckes that plated Hughes.
Hughes was 2-for-3 for her team-leading 14th multi-hit game of the season.
Both teams made highlight-reel caliber plays in the field, perhaps none better than Huffman's grab and throw on a squibber between the circle and third base to retire Melanie Baccay in the sixth inning.
The Boilermakers and the Spartans (15-10, 0-2) conclude their three-game series at 1 p.m. ET tomorrow. The teams originally were scheduled to play single games today, tomorrow and Sunday, but with rain in the forecast for Sunday, the slate was modified.