April 7, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana Hoosiers snapped Purdue softball's six-game conference win streak, nabbing a 3-2 win that came to the wire in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader. The Hoosiers won the game, getting the benefit of a close play at the plate in the final stanza.
Indiana scored three runs on 10 hits, while allowing Purdue two runs on nine hits and two errors. Junior Ashley Courtney led the Boilermaker bats with two hits as eight different players registered a base hit for Purdue.
Lora Olson (10-10) picked up the complete-game victory for the Hoosiers. Freshman Lexy Moore (15-4) struck out eight batters in the loss for Purdue.
Indiana scored first, plating a run on three hits in the first inning. A pair of infield singles set the table for a two-out RBI single to right for Brianna Meyer. The third strike out of the stanza prevented further damage.
The Boilermakers put two runners on in the second with a leadoff double by sophomore Danielle Fletcher and a single to shallow left by junior Erika Petruzzi, but could not bring them home.
Purdue managed a pair of hits in the third, but could not score. Senior Molly Garst flared a single into left center, but was later called for leaving early on a steal attempt. Sophomore Andie Varsho followed with an infield single, but was left stranded.
In the fourth, the center field wall robbed Courtney of a potential home run as her fly ball bounced off the top of the wall and back into the field for a double. A fly ball and strikeout kept Purdue from breaking onto the scoreboard.
The Boilermakers broke through with a pair of runs on two hits and an error in the fifth. Sophomore Lindsey Rains pushed the runs across with a single to right. Purdue had runners at first and second with two outs after a fielder's choice put Garst on and a walk to Varsho. The single to right got past the right fielder allowing both runs to score.
The Hoosiers tied it up at 2-2 with a run on two hits in the bottom of the fifth. IU got a pair of singles to start the inning and sacrificed the runners into scoring position. A ground ball up the middle accounted for the score.
Purdue threatened in the sixth, putting two runners on as Courtney singled and Petruzzi reached on a botched fielder's choice attempt. A caught foul ball and a grounder to the pitcher kept the Boilermakers from capitalizing.
Indiana stranded a runner at third in the sixth after a one-out double.
The Boilermakers missed out on a scoring opportunity in the seventh as sophomore Tori Chiodo posted a leadoff single and was sacrificed to second. A caught foul ball in left and a pop up brought the Hoosiers to the plate one last time.
The Hoosiers drew a two-out walk and capitalized with a Meyer double to center, which saw the Purdue defense get the ball in for the play at the plate. The umpire ruled the runner didn't touch the plate and the Boilermakers didn't apply the tag initially, but the base runner touched the plate before another tag was applied to end the game.
Purdue (23-11, 6-1 Big Ten) will look to split the doubleheader with a win in Game 2. Live streaming video of the action is available on BTN.com.