May 11, 2009

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Senior third baseman Candace Curtis was rewarded with Big Ten Player of the Week honors on Monday for her big senior day performance against Indiana on Saturday.

Curtis posted a .556 average with five hits, including three doubles, and had a hand in eight of Purdue's 10 runs in its sweep of the Hoosiers. She posted six RBI and two runs, while boasting a .889 slugging percentage and a .556 on-base percentage. In Game 1 vs. the Hoosiers, Curtis went 2-for-4 and drove in both of Purdue's runs. A sixth-inning double put Purdue on the board, then an eighth-inning single plated the game winner. In the 8-7 Game 2 victory, the Danville, Calif., native went 3-for-5 with four RBI and the game-winning run. Curtis put two on the board with a first-inning double, then tacked on two more RBI with a second-inning single. With the game on the line in the eighth, Curtis capped her final regular season game with a leadoff double before coming home on a sacrifice fly to seal the victory.

The Player of the Week nod is the first of Curtis's career and the first for the Boilermakers since Jenna Alexander was so honored on April 7, 2008. Purdue received two Pitcher of the Week accolades earlier this season as Dana Alcocer (2/9) and Suzie Rzegocki (3/9) were honored.

The Boilermakers (29-18, 12-8 Big Ten) earned their second consecutive NCAA Regionals berth on Sunday. Purdue will face off with the Louisville Cardinals at 6 p.m. Friday at Ulmer Stadium in Louisville, Ky. The team's 12-8 conference mark was its best in more than a decade, since the 1997 squad went 14-12 in Big Ten play.

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