March 21, 2007

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker softball team wraps up the non-conference tournament season at the Miami Softball Invitational in Oxford, Ohio, this weekend. Purdue will face Youngstown State, Toledo, Michigan State and the host Redhawks at the tournament.

Series Information
Youngstown State: This is the first meeting between the Boilermakers and the Penguins.

Miami (Ohio) (Purdue leads the series 6-0): The Boilermakers have won all six previous meetings with the Red Hawks in the series which began on March 22, 1995. The teams have met twice in West Lafayette, twice in Oxford and in two neutral site contests. The teams last met on March 15, 2001.

Michigan State (MSU leads the series 15-14): The Spartans took a 15-14 lead in the series with a sweep of the 2006 meetings. The teams split the first 18 contests. The Boilermakers then took two of the next three. MSU answered with three straight wins, but Purdue countered with three of its own, until the Spartans snapped the streak with the 2006 sweep.

Toledo (Purdue leads the series 1-0): The Boilermakers won the lone previous meeting with the Rockets, taking a 7-2 victory on March 26, 2000 in West Lafayette.

A Look at the Boilermakers
The Purdue softball team (13-21) looks to build on its current six-game win streak at the Miami Softball Invitational this weekend. The Boilermakers went 8-7 on their spring break trip to northern California, including a 5-0 mark to wrap up the trip at the Capitol Classic in Sacramento.

Sophomore first baseman Katie Mitchell leads the Boilermaker offense with a .351 average, and has posted a team-high 27 RBI, 22 runs and 17 extra-base hits, including five home runs. Junior third baseman Ashley Hall (.333), sophomore shortstop Candace Curtis (.333), freshman Kelsey Haupert (.314) and sophomore Kelly Miller (.313) follow. Senior DaQueta Johnson also is batting above .250 with a .274 average. Hall has scored a team-best 25 runs, while also accounting for 16 RBI and 23 stolen bases. Haupert has launched four home runs in the team's last five games, while Curtis (2), Johnson (2), senior Erika Peterson (1) and freshman Jenna Alexander (1) also have tallied long balls. Purdue is batting .268 and has stolen 56 bases in 72 attempts.

Senior Brooke Baker (10-10), who has won her last six starts, has K'ed 81 batters in 132 innings of work. Sophomore Ashley DiDomenico (3-10) boasts a 3.04 ERA and has struck out 20 batters in 83 innings of work. Freshmen Sarah Grams and Sarah Killer also have seen action in the circle.

Postings About The Penguins
The Youngstown State Penguins (3-1) have played just four games in 2007 due to rain cancellations. The team topped George Mason and Morgan State, while splitting with Brown at the George Mason Invitational March 10-11.

Junior infielder Becky Hibner leads a group of seven batters with averages of .300 or better. Freshman infielder Autumn Grove (.417), sophomore catcher Kristen McDonnell (.375), senior outfielder Lacy Bronson (.357), junior utility player McKenzie Bedra (.357), junior infielder Kelli Sheibley (.333) and senior outfielder Megan Bricker (.308) follow. Grove and McDonnell have each recorded a home run. Bronson has scored a team-best six runs, while Bedra has driven in five RBI. As a team, the Penguins are batting .331, while limiting opponents to a .202 average.

Senior Karlie Burnell (2-0) has done the bulk of the pitching for YSU, striking out 10 in 14 innings while posting a 2.00 ERA. Freshman Danielle Chase (0-1) has K'ed five in seven innings of action, while freshman Cheryl Cale and sophomore Tasha Hess (1-0) have also seen time in the circle. Youngstown State is coached by Christy Cameron, who is in her eighth year with the team.

Meet Miami
The Miami Redhawks (8-19) enter their home-opener this weekend after posting a 1-4 record at the San Diego State Aztec Classic a week ago. The Redhawks topped Iona, but fell to Fairfield, Utah, Fordham and the host Aztecs.

Junior first baseman Halle Popson leads the Redhawk offense with a .353 batting average, including nine RBI and 15 runs. Four other Miami players are batting .250 or better. Senior utility player Leslie Macedo (.325), junior outfielder Breanna Robinson (.302), freshman infielder Briana Burke (.284) and freshman outfielder/catcher Alicia Hogl (.250) make up the group. Macedo has accounted for 11 extra base hits, including three home runs, as well as a team-best 15 RBI and 17 runs. Robinson and Burke also have driven in double-digit RBI. Miami is batting .259 as a team with 22 stolen bases.

Freshman Meredith Linch (3-9) has tossed 74 innings for the Redhawks, striking out 53. Sophomore lefty Kelly Cabana (4-3), freshman Shalise Lugo (1-3) and freshman Alex Vikartofsky (0-4) round out the pitching staff. Miami is coached by Kelly Kovach Schoenly, who is in her first year with the team.

Talkin' About Toledo
The Toledo Rockets (2-12) enter the weekend after posting a 0-5 record at the Bulldog Classic in Fresno, Calif., two weeks ago. The Rockets fell to BYU, Purdue, Fresno State, Penn State and Colorado State at the tournament.

Junior first baseman Leslie Stong leads the offense with a .395 batting average, including four home runs and a team-leading 10 RBI. Freshman outfielder Mica Sanchez follows with a .276 average, including a home run and two stolen bases. Junior infielder Megan McCauley (.225), sophomore catcher Alison Hess (.222), freshman utility Kate Ricchio (.219) and freshman shortstop Lacey LeVier (.216) also contribute to the UT offense. McCauley leads the team with seven runs scored, including a home run. The Rockets are batting .216, while allowing opponents a .350 average.

Senior Stephanie Moore, freshman Hannah Rockhold and sophomore lefty Sierra Pereira split the pitching duties for Toledo. Moore (1-7) has struck out 19 in 36 innings, while Rockhold (0-1) has K'ed 15 in 21 innings and Pereira (1-4) has struck out six in 26 innings. The Rockets are coached by Jo Ann Gordon, who is in her fifth year with the team.

Scouting the Spartans
The Michigan State Spartans (15-12) come into the Miami Invitational after going 3-2 at the Florida Atlantic Tournament last weekend. MSU beat UMass twice and Quinnipiac once, after falling to Texas A&M and Florida Atlantic to start the tournament.

Sophomore catcher/utility Kara Weigle, junior outfielder Nikki Nicosia and junior utility player Traci Nicosia lead the Spartans at the plate. Weigle owns a .386 average, including six triples and three home runs, while also boasting a team-leading 25 RBI, 16 runs and eight stolen bases. Nikki Nicosia has scored a team-best 17 runs, while batting .333 with eight stolen bases. Traci Nicosia is batting .280 with seven doubles, 16 RBI and 10 runs. Five Spartans have hit home runs, as the team is batting .258 and has swiped 28 bases.

Senior Rachel Turney (4-5) leads the MSU pitching staff with 48 strikeouts in 64 innings. Sophomore Megan Hair (6-6) has sat down 28 batters in 59 innings en route to a 2.36 ERA. Junior Lesley Noel (3-1) has posted 29 Ks in 46 innings, while freshman Kelly Confer (2-0) has struck out seven in 11 innings of action. Michigan State is coached by Jacquie Joseph, who is in her 14th year with the team.

What a Difference a Win Makes ...

If Purdue tops Youngstown State on Friday...

• The team will garner its 14th win of the season.

• The team will extend its win streak to seven games.

• The team will move to 10-4 in games played on March 23.

• It will move the team's all-time record in the month of March to 184-116-1.

• It will move the team's all-time non-conference mark to 324-205-3.

Making History
Sophomore first baseman Katie Mitchell made history on Feb. 23, when she hit for the cycle against Florida International. Mitchell became the first Boilermaker ever to achieve the feat, which calls for a player to hit a single, double, triple and home run in a single game. In the contest with the Golden Panthers, she put up three RBI and scored two runs. A first inning double, a two-run home run in the third and one-out triple in the sixth set the table for her RBI single in the seventh, which made history. The sophomore also drew a walk in the fourth.

For the weekend, Mitchell batted .538 with a 1.385 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage. She went 7-for-13 including six extra base hits en route to all-tournament honors.

Marathon Game
The Boilermakers played a three hour and twenty-eight minute game against Iowa State on Feb. 18. The contest, the third between Purdue and the Cyclones, lasted 12 innings. The teams combined for 22 hits and seven errors in the contest, which ended in a 7-6 Boilermaker victory.

Sophomore pitcher Ashley DiDomenico threw all 12 innings for Purdue, setting a new single-game record for innings pitched. The effort surpassed 10-inning performances by Sheryl Scheve and Deana Jackson.

The Boilermakers scored seven runs on 10 hits and two ISU errors, while the Cyclones managed six runs on 12 hits and five Purdue miscues. Senior Catherine Zaworski (Prospect Heights, Ill.) led the Boilermaker hitters with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, while sophomore Kelly Miller (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Mitchell also tallied multiple hits.

Tournament Honors
Boilermaker players have been honored with all-tournament team accolades at each of the team's tournaments thus far this season. Freshman first baseman Kelsey Haupert (Olympia, Wash.) and junior third baseman Ashley Hall (Noblesville, Ind.) were so honored at the Bulldog Round Robin in Starkville, Miss. Haupert batted .467, including a 4-for-4 effort against Kennesaw State, while Hall hit .353 with six runs, two RBI and five stolen bases, including a school-record tying three against KSU.

Hall and sophomore pitcher Ashley DiDomenico earned the accolades at the Ragin' Cajun Invitational in Lafayette, La. Hall batted .353 with four RBI and four stolen bases, while DiDomenico posted a 2-1 record on the mound and struck out seven batters in 23 innings of work. DiDomenico also tossed a school single-game record 12 innings against Iowa State on Sunday.

Sophomore first baseman Katie Mitchell and sophomore shortstop Candace Curtis garnered the all-tournament nods at the Golden Panther Invitational in Miami. Mitchell batted .538 on the weekend with a 1.385 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage. She went 7-for-13 including six extra base hits en route to all-tournament honors at the Golden Panther Invitational. She also made history by hitting for the cycle against Florida International. Curtis batted .467 with a home run, a double and two stolen bases.

Sophomore second baseman Kelly Miller earned the nod at the Buzz Classic in Woodstock, Ga. Miller batted .636 on the weekend including three runs and a stolen base.

Curtis was Purdue's all-tournament representative at the Bulldog Classic in Fresno, Calif. She batted .500 with two doubles, a triple, four runs and two RBI.

No all-tournament team was named at the Capitol Classic in Sacramento.

Upcoming Milestones
Senior outfielder DaQueta Johnson is climbing the Purdue career record lists for home runs and RBI, while senior catcher Erika Peterson is making her way up the lists for walks and defensive putouts. Junior third baseman Ashley Hall is on her way to stealing a spot on the single season and career stolen base lists. Senior Brooke Baker also is making an impact on the pitching records.

Johnson ranks third on the home runs list with 27, just five behind current record holders Katie Crabtree (1999-2002) and Heidi Foster (2000-2003), who posted 32 in their respective careers. The Ontario, Calif., native also is second on the RBI list with 130. She is 17 away from Foster's record of 147.

Peterson ranks third in defensive putouts with 1,152, just 219 away from Kristin Billen's second place tally of 1,371. The Irvine, Calif., native ranks fourth with 71 walks, eight behind Foster's third place tally of 79. Peterson has laid down 40 sacrifice hits in her career, ranking her tied for fourth place in that career category.

Hall has swiped 23 bases thus far in 2007, putting her just five steals away from the single-season record mark of 28 established by Angi Roembke during the 2003 season. She has racked up 48 steals in her career, just 28 shy of the career record of 76 also held by Roembke.

Senior pitcher Brooke Baker looks to add to her career record tallies for complete games (75) and innings pitched (713.0), while also moving up the career appearance, strikeouts, shutouts and wins lists. The Schererville, Ind., native surpassed the innings pitched record of 683.2 held by Leighann Burke over spring break. Baker also ranks second in appearances (145) and shutouts (16), and third in wins (55) and strikeouts (458).

On the Road Again
As is customary for teams in the northern United States, Purdue will spend the first seven weeks of its season on the road in hopes of finding warmer climates and good competition. The Boilermakers begin the string of road trips in Starkville, Miss. The cross-country trek will also include stops in: Lafayette, La.; Miami, Fla.; Atlanta, Ga.; Fresno, Calif.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Oxford, Ohio. All total the Purdue players will log more than 12,000 miles before the conference season begins on March 30. During that time, the team is scheduled to play teams from 17 different states and 18 different conferences.

A Rare Sight
On April 4, 2006, three Boilermaker pitchers (Diana LaRiva, Melissa Burns and Brooke Baker) combined to throw a no-hitter against instate foe Ball State. LaRiva started the game and struck out four in three innings of work, before Burns took over in the circle, also striking out four in two innings of action. Baker finished out the no-no, fanning two in the final two stanzas. The Purdue pitchers faced just 22 batters, walking none and allowing only one ball out of the infield in the contest. Two defensive miscues kept the Boilermakers from serving a perfect game.

The no-hitter was the 13th in Purdue history and only the second combined no-no by Boilermaker pitchers. More impressive, however, is that it is the first of its kind in the Big Ten Conference and one of only a handful in NCAA history. Arizona, Baylor, Canisius Georgia, Mississippi State and Utah also boast the accomplishment. A listing of known trifecta no-hitters follows.

March 20, 1999 Canisius vs. Niagara Feb. 13, 2002 Mississippi State vs. Belmont Feb. 21, 2002 Baylor vs. Stephen F. Austin March 9, 2005 Georgia vs. Charlotte May 21, 2005 Arizona vs. Lehigh April 4, 2006 Purdue vs. Ball State April 7, 2006 Utah vs. Utah Valley State

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