March 12, 2011
BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Hofstra Pride took the sunshine out of Purdue's Saturday afternoon in Boca Raton, issuing the team a 7-2 loss.
Hofstra managed its seven runs on six hits and five Purdue miscues, while the Boilermakers put up two runs on four hits and an error. Junior Molly Garst and freshman Andie Varsho each contributed two hits to the Purdue tally.
Olivia Galati picked up the complete-game win for The Pride, while senior Suzie Rzegocki (11-4) was saddled with the loss for Purdue.
The Boilermakers avoided damage from a first-inning error, forcing the Pride to strand a runner at third.
Sophomore Erika Petruzzi reached on an error by the third baseman in the second inning, but was called for leaving early on a stolen base attempt later in the inning.
A hit and an error gave Hofstra baserunners in the second, but the Boilermaker defense held once again.
Tessa Ziemba broke the game open with a one-out grand slam for Hofstra in the third. The Pride had loaded the bases on an infield single and a pair of walks prior to the hit. A double after the home run prompted a Purdue pitching change. After allowing a single up the middle which made it 5-0, junior Katie Hackney forced a fly ball and a grounder back to herself to prevent further damage.
Purdue answered back with a pair of runs in the fourth. Garst and Varsho combined a pair of doubles for a score. Senior Shelby Krammer bounced a one-out double off the base off the wall in right center to bring Varsho home. A diving grab in left field and a grounder stranded pinch runner MaryBeth Pavlick at inning's end.
A pair of error gave Hofstra runners at the corners with two outs in the fifth, but a fly ball kept the Pride off the scoreboard.
Garst bounced a single through the right side and stole second to start the sixth. Varsho followed with a hit toward the shortstop. Garst was out on the play, however, as she collided with the shortstop on her way to third and was called for interference. Varsho swiped second, but a pair of strikeouts kept her from advancing further.
Hofstra tacked on two unearned runs on a sixth-inning triple. A two-out throwing error gave The Pride a runner at second. A single put runners at the corners, before Jess Hirschbuhl brought them home with the hit. A fly ball stranded Hirschbuhl.
The Boilermakers went down in order on a pair of grounders and a pop up to end the contest.
Purdue (14-5) returns to action at 6 p.m. Monday when they take on Florida Atlantic in a doubleheader.