April 5, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - In a game that featured 14 runs and 21 hits and saw each team answer the other throughout, Notre Dame edged Purdue softball for an 8-6 win on Thursday.
The Boilermakers scored their six runs on nine hits and three errors, while allowing the Irish eight runs on 12 hits. Sophomore Danielle Fletcher led the Purdue bats with a three-hit effort while sophomore Andie Varsho posted a two-hit performance. The Boilermakers tallied two triples and two home runs in the contest.
Laura Winter (12-6) picked up the win for Notre Dame, striking in five in four and a third innings of work. She left the game in the fifth, but returned to pitch to the final Boilermaker batter. Brittany O'Donnell also appeared in the circle for the Irish, striking out five. Freshman Lexy Moore (15-3) struck out five Notre Dame batters in the loss.
The Boilermakers took the Irish for two runs on three hits, two for extra bases, and an error in the opening inning. Varsho got the offense going with a one-out single up the middle. A fielding error by the center fielder allowed her to go to third on the play. Purdue jumped on the board one pitch later as sophomore Lindsey Rains launched a towering shot to right field to make it 2-0. Fletcher followed by legging out a triple that bounced off the left field wall, but the Boilermakers were unable to bring her home.
Notre Dame got both runs back in the second. The Irish combined a pair of hits, a leadoff walk and a couple of illegal pitches for the scores. The walk, a single and illegal pitch put runners at second and third with nobody out. A Katey Haus single to center brought one run in. A sacrifice pushed the runners to second and third again and an illegal pitch call, allowed the lead runner to come home. A pick off at third base and a ground out at the plate ended the inning.
Purdue went up 3-2 in the second, capitalizing on an Irish miscue. Sophomore Tori Chiodo reached on a two-out fielding error by the pitcher. Senior Molly Garst made Notre Dame pay for the miscue, plating Chiodo with a triple to the right center gap. A caught foul ball stranded Garst.
The Irish tied it up with a run on two hits in the third. Alexa Maldonado reached on a leadoff bunt single and was sacrificed to second. She went to third on a caught foul ball in deep right and scored on a single to center the next play.
Notre Dame took the lead with a pair of runs in the fourth. A double and fielder's choice play put runners at second and third with two outs. Maldonado brought both home with a double to the left center gap. Maldonado was called for runner interference for the final out of the inning.
A solo home run by Dani Miller in the fifth made it 6-3 Irish.
The Boilermakers cut the deficit to one with a pair of runs on two hits and an error in the fifth. Varsho led off with a bunt single and went to third as Rains reached on a fielding error by the left fielder. With runners at second and third, Fletcher picked up a pair of RBI with a single to center.
Both teams managed a run in the sixth. The Irish got theirs on a pair of hits and a sacrifice. A leadoff single and sacrifice set up an RBI double by Jenna Simon. The Boilermakers' score came on one swing of the bat as sophomore Lauren Grant lasered a pinch hit home run over the right field wall.
Notre Dame made it 8-6 combining a single and a double for a seventh-inning score. With a runner at first, Emilee Koerner doubled to right center to drive in the insurance run.
The Boilermakers had a chance in the seventh inning after Fletcher roped a two-out single into right center. Junior Ashley Courtney followed with a walk, but a strikeout stranded both giving Notre Dame the win.
Purdue (23-10) returns to action at 1 p.m. Saturday when the team faces off with Indiana in a doubleheader in Bloomington. All three games of the series with be streamed live on BTN.com. Live audio broadcasts and live stats will be available on purduesports.com.