ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Purdue (8-25, 1-3 B1G) fell in a pitchers duel to No. 17 Michigan (26-7, 2-1 B1G) 4-0 in the series opener at Alumni Field. Sydney Bates has now strung together nine consecutive outings in which she has given up three earned runs or less with a 3.53 ERA in that span.
Bates tossed six innings and allowed just two earned runs on five hits and a pair of walks against the Wolverines. The redshirt freshman registered four strikeouts in the contest as well. Michigan took advantage of a passed ball in the first and an error in the fifth to score the other two runs. The Wolverines are averaging 5.10 runs per game this season.
Michigan allowed just one baserunner in the game as Alexa Binckes was hit by a pitch in the fifth. Madison Douglass entered the game as a pinch runner and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Halle Hixenbaugh. With the Boilermakers threatening with a runner in scoring position, Wolverine pitcher Meghan Beaubien responded by striking out the next two batters to keep Purdue off the scoreboard.
Purdue looks to even the series against Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET.
