April 9, 2007

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker softball team kicks off a nine-game road trip when the team faces Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday. Purdue will wrap up the week with a pair of conference series against Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Series Information
Miami (Ohio) (Purdue leads the series 6-0-1): The Boilermakers had won all six previous meetings with the Red Hawks in the series which began on March 22, 1995, until their rain soaked meeting on March 23 ended in a 3-3 tie. The teams have met twice in West Lafayette, three times in Oxford and in two neutral site contests.

Minnesota (Minnesota leads the series 16-13): The Golden Gophers won the first two meetings in the series which began on April 29, 1995. The teams split the next four contests. Purdue won three of the next four, but Minnesota answered with four straight wins. The teams traded wins over the next six contests, including a pair of extra-inning games. The Gophers swept the 2003 series, but Purdue has won five of the last seven, including a sweep of the 2006 doubleheader.

Wisconsin (Purdue leads the series 16-11): The Boilermakers won the first seven games in the series which began on April 6, 1996. The Badgers won eight of the next 11 games. Purdue then took three in a row. The teams split the 2004, 2005 and 2006 meetings with Purdue taking Game 2 of each series.

A Look at the Boilermakers
The Purdue softball team (19-25-1, 1-4 Big Ten) begins a nine-game road swing with a Tuesday doubleheader against Miami (Ohio). From Oxford, the team will head to Minnesota and Wisconsin for conference action. The Boilermakers posted a 1-1 record last week, topping Butler in a Tuesday contest, before falling in a close game against No. 8 Northwestern on Friday.

Sophomore first baseman Katie Mitchell leads the Boilermaker offense with a .378 average, and has posted a team-high 35 RBI, 31 runs and 24 extra-base hits, including nine home runs. Junior third baseman Ashley Hall (.345), freshman Kelsey Haupert (.319) and sophomore shortstop Candace Curtis (.306) follow. Sophomore second baseman Kelly Miller (.298) and senior DaQueta Johnson (.273) also are batting above .250. Hall has scored 30 runs, while also accounting for 17 RBI and a single-season record 30 stolen bases. Haupert has launched seven home runs, while Curtis (3), Johnson (2), senior Erika Peterson (2) and freshman Jenna Alexander (2) also have tallied long balls. Purdue is batting .269 and has stolen 71 bases in 92 attempts.

Senior Brooke Baker (15-13) has K'ed 113 batters in 189 innings of work and boasts a team-best 2.59 ERA to go with eight shutouts. Sophomore Ashley DiDomenico (4-11) owns a 2.89 ERA and has struck out 27 batters in 101 innings of work. Freshmen Sarah Grams and Sarah Killer also have seen action in the circle.

Meet Miami
The Miami Redhawks (14-27-1) have won four of their last six contests coming into the week. The team posted a 3-2 record last week, topping Marshall then splitting a pair of doubleheaders with Mid-American Conference foes Northern Illinois and Western Michigan over the weekend.

Junior first baseman Halle Popson leads the Redhawk offense with a .346 batting average, including 10 RBI and 20 runs. Four other Miami players are batting .250 or better. Senior utility player Leslie Macedo (.318), junior outfielder Breanna Robinson (.262), junior utility player Christine Bills (.259) and freshman infielder Briana Burke (.253) make up the group. Macedo has accounted for 18 extra base hits, including four home runs, as well as a team-best 21 RBI and 23 runs. Robinson also has tallied four home runs, while driving in 17 RBI. Miami is batting .252 as a team with 27 stolen bases.

Freshman Meredith Linch (6-14) has tossed 135 innings for the Redhawks, striking out 89. Sophomore lefty Kelly Cabana (4-4), freshman Shalise Lugo (4-4) and freshman Alex Vikartofsky (0-5) round out the pitching staff. Miami is coached by Kelly Kovach Schoenly, who is in her first year with the team.

Getting To Know The Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-14, 0-2 Big Ten) are looking to get back on the field after having their last six contests cancelled due to inclement weather and unplayable field conditions. The Gophers are slated for a Wednesday road doubleheader against Wisconsin-Green Bay before welcoming the Boilermakers to town on Friday.

Senior Mandy Valadez leads the Gophers at the plate with a .323 average, including four doubles and four home runs. Junior oufielder Colleen Powers (.317), senior outfielder Katie Meyer (.273) and senior infielder Megan Higginbotham (.250) follow. Higginbotham leads the team with 15 RBI, 14 runs and nine stolen bases, while also adding two home runs. Sophomore infielder Colleen Conway also has swiped nin bases, while senior infielder Lisa Parks has launched a team-best five home runs. The Gophers are batting .234 as a team with 13 home runs and 24 stolen bases.

Sophomore Briana Hassett (7-5) boasts a 2.14 ERA to go with 80 strikeouts and four shutouts in 75 innings of work. Senior Rene Konderik (3-6) has struck out 43 batters in 61 innings, while sophomore Katie Dalen (3-3) has K'ed 43 in 42 innings of action. Minnesota is led by co-head coaches Lisa Bernstein and Julie Standering, who are in their seventh year at the helm of the team.

Words About Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Badgers (19-11, 2-4 Big Ten) enter the week on a three-game win streak after topping Illinois-Chicago and sweeping Iowa in a Sunday doubleheader. The Badgers are slated to play a Tuesday doubleheader against North Dakota State before returning to Big Ten action against Indiana on Friday.

Junior outfielder Katie Hnatyk leads a group of four Badger players with averages of .300 or better. Two other starters boast batting averages of .250 or better. Hnatyk has launched a team-best 10 home runs, while accounting for 30 RBI and eight stolen bases. Senior outifleder Samantha Polito (.344), junior infielder Ricci Robben (.333), sophomore infielder Alexis Garcia (.304), senior infielder Athena Vasquez (.299) and junior catcher Joey Daniels (.265) follow. Robben, Garcia and Daniels each have tallied four home runs, while Polito has scored a team-best 23 runs. The Badgers are batting .269 as a team with 27 home runs and 21 stolen bases.

Senior Eden Brock (10-6) and freshman Letty Olivarez (6-5) have done the bulk of the pitching for Wisconsin, while sophomore lefty Leah Vanevenhoven (3-0) has also seen action in the circle. Brock boasts a 2.03 ERA and has struck out 130 in 107 innings, while Olivarez has K'ed 59 in 80 innings of work, while tossing three shutouts. Wisconsin is coached by Chandelle Shulte, who is in her second year with the team.

What a Difference a Win Makes ...
If Purdue tops Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday...

• The team will garner its 20th win of the season.

• The team will move to 7-0-1 in games against the Redhawks.

• The team will move to 8-2 in games played on April 10, and 74-55-3 in non-conference road games.

Streakin'
The Boilermakers have won 13 of their last 19 contests, including a seven-game win streak and a four-game stretch. During that span, several individual players also have caught fire both offensively and in the pitching circle.

Senior Brooke Baker (Schererville, Ind.) has won 12 of her last 15 starts dating back to a March 14 win at UC Davis. Baker has struck out four or more batters in nine of those 15 starts, allowing just 16 earned runs in her 17 appearances, spanning 100 innings.

Junior Ashley Hall (Noblesville, Ind.) boasts the team's longest current hitting streak with a base knock in each of her last nine games. The streak follows her 10-game streak from March 2-March 13. Freshman Kelsey Haupert ended a seven-game hit streak against the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks March 23, but has posted a hit in five of her last seven games. Haupert posted five home runs during an eight-game span from March 16-March 24.

Sophomore Katie Mitchell (Crown Point, Ind.) has tallied a hit in 12 of her last 17 contests, including a six-game hit streak from March 15-March 18. She also has scored a run in 11 of the last 17 games, including five straight from March 23-30. Mitchell also has tallied five home runs in her last 12 games.

Freshman Amy Butcher (Decatur, Ind.) has scored a run in four of her last six pinch running opportunities.

Purdue had managed at least one run offensively in its last 27 contests, until being shutout by Illinois on March 31. The Boilermakers have posted at least seven hits in 13 of their last 19 contests, including four double-digit tallies.

Several Boilermaker players have been quite successful reaching base in the last 18 contests. A chart of current streaks follows.

Name         Games Reached Via Hit/Walk/HBP vs. Games Played
Haupert      17 of 19    .404 avg.    .452 obp.
Hall         14 of 16    .339 avg.    .393 obp.
Curtis       14 of 17    .289 avg.    .385 obp.
Mitchell     14 of 19    .426 avg.    .467 obp.
Peterson     14 of 19    .231 avg.    .388 obp.
Barr         13 of 19    .268 avg.    .339 obp.
Johnson      10 of 17    .262 avg.    .340 obp.
Alexander    9 of 15     .258 avg.    .410 obp.

A Tale of Two Seasons
The 2007 campaign can be clearly divided into two distinct segments, the contests before the team's midweek contests against UC Davis during Spring Break and those after. The team posted a 6-20 record prior to the UC Davis doubleheader, and has recorded a 13-5-1 mark since. Below is a chart of comparing the team's statistics during the two portions of the season.

Category               First 26 Games      Last 19 Games
Batting Average        .254                .291
Runs                   90                  96
Runs Per Game          3.46                5.05
Home Runs              7                   18
Slugging Percentage    .345                .453
ERA                    3.67                1.41
Shutouts               2                   7
Strikeouts             72                  68
Strikeouts Per Game    2.76                3.57
Walks Allowed          41                  22
Walks Per Game         1.57                1.15
Opponent Batting Avg.  .304                .243

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.

Baker looks to add to her career record tallies for wins (60), complete games (83), starts (110) and innings pitched (769.1), while also moving up the career appearance, strikeouts, shutouts and wins lists. The Schererville, Ind., native became Purdue's all-time winningest pitcher on Sunday, March 25, when she posted her 58th career win against Toledo, surpassing Sheryl Scheve's mark of 57. Baker surpassed the innings pitched record of 683.2 held by Leighann Burke over spring break. Baker also ranks second in appearances (154) and shutouts (19), and third in strikeouts (490).

Hall has swiped 30 bases thus far in 2007, snapping the single-season record mark of 28 established by Angi Roembke during the 2003 season. She has racked up 55 steals in her career, just 21 shy of the career record of 76 also held by Roembke. Six more steals with put Hall among the career top five in stolen bases.

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 132, 15 away from Foster's record of 147.

Peterson ranks third in defensive putouts with 1,196, just 175 away from Kristin Billen's second place tally of 1,371. The Irvine, Calif., native ranks fourth with 73 walks, six behind Foster's third place tally of 79. Peterson has laid down 43 sacrifice hits in her career, ranking her tied for third in that career category. The senior also is tied for fifth with 16 career home runs.

Sophomore Katie Mitchell and Hall joined the single-season top five in triples with four each so far this year.

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.

Purdue's March 23 contest with Miami (Ohio) lasted four hours and nine minutes, but the contest included nearly an hour and 45 minutes of rain delay time.

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 or at the Miami Softball Invitational in Oxford, Ohio.

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