April 28, 2005

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker softball team hits the road this weekend, traveling to State College, Pa., and Columbus, Ohio, for conference contests. Purdue will take on Penn State on Friday and Saturday, before making the trek to Columbus to face Ohio State on Sunday. The Boilermakers are in the midst of their winningest conference season since 2001.

Series Information
Penn State (PSU leads the series 17-9): The Nittany Lions won the first three meetings in the series which began on April 22, 1995. Purdue won the next five contests, but Penn State countered by taking the next nine. In the last nine contests, PSU has won five to Purdue's four, including a series split in 2004.

Ohio State (OSU leads the series 12-7): The Buckeyes won the first three meetings of the series which began on April 15, 1995. The teams split the next eight contests, the last of which sparked a four-game Purdue win streak. OSU has won the last five meetings, including the lone 2004 contest.

Notes About the Nittany Lions
The Penn State Nittany Lions (30-18, 6-7 Big Ten) swept Akron by scores of 9-1 and 10-4 in non-conference play on Wednesday. The team went 1-2 over the weekend, knocking off No. 1 Michigan on Friday, before dropping a pair to Northwestern on Sunday. PSU topped the Wolverines 2-1, before being swept by the Wildcats 3-0 and 2-1.

Freshman pitcher/first baseman Ashley Esparza is batting .413 including 24 RBI, 12 doubles and three home runs. Freshman shortstop Jen Acunto owns a .388 average to go with a team-best 31 RBI, 26 runs and six stolen bases. Acunto also has accounted for a team-best 22 extra-base hits including 13 doubles and eight home runs. Sophomore outfielder Meghan Wolfer is batting .342 with 23 runs and four stolen bases. Freshman pitcher Jenn Reynolds boasts a .321 average including 26 RBI and three home runs. Junior center fielder Leigh Murray is batting .301, while freshman catcher Hollee Haines owns a .299 average. Murray has driven in 25 RBI, while Haines has added 30 RBI and five home runs. Sophomore left fielder Jen Williams has scored 27 runs, while also swiping a team-best 15 bases in 18 attempts. The Nittany Lions are batting .300 and own a 37-of-49 mark on the base paths.

Junior Missy Beseres (13-10) leads the PSU pitching staff with a 1.51 ERA. Beseres has struck out 218 batters in 162 innings, while throwing 12 complete games and earning four saves. Freshman Ashley Esparza (11-4) boasts a 1.69 ERA to go with 89 Ks in 95 innings of work. Jenn Reynolds (6-4) has struck out 45 batters in 64 innings and thrown two complete games. The Nittany Lion hurlers boast a team ERA of 1.62. PSU is coached by Robin Petrini, who is in her ninth year with the team.

Buckeye Bites
The Ohio State Buckeyes (24-14, 4-6 Big Ten) bring a four-game win streak into their weekend games with Indiana and Purdue after sweeping Bowling Green, 5-0 and 9-3 on Wednesday. The Buckeyes did not play last weekend due to weather conditions at Northwestern and Michigan. Most recently, OSU swept Wright State on April 19.

Sophomore pitcher/third baseman Jamee Juarez boasts a team-best .396 batting average, including 24 RBI and 16 runs. Sophomore outfielder Megan Schwab is batting .385 including a team-best 32 RBI, 28 runs and seven home runs. Sophomore second baseman Nicole Koyano boasts a .356 average to go with 34 runs scored and a 11-for-12 mark on the base paths. Senior outfielder Karisa Evans owns a .345 average including 18 runs scored. Junior infielder Billie Jo Carder is batting .327 with nine doubles, while sophomore first baseman Christina Douglas owns a .303 mark, including 29 RBI, 25 runs scored and nine doubles. Senior first baseman Ashley Cutcliff has posted a .455 batting average in limited action. Freshman utility player Brittany Vanderink leads OSU on the base paths having swiped 13 of 14 stolen bases attempted. Eleven different OSU players have tallied a home run this season, while all but one member of the starting lineup owns a batting average of .300 or better. As a team, the Buckeyes boast a .334 average and a 64-for-81 mark on the base paths.

Juarez (18-10) leads the OSU pitching staff with a 2.20 ERA. She has thrown 155 innings, striking out 136, while pitching 16 complete games including six shutouts. Junior Chelsea Baker (5-2) has tossed 50 innings for the Buckeyes, striking out 37. Freshman Nicole Gragson (1-2) has K'ed 24 in 34 innings of work, while junior Andrea Tribuzi has seen nine innings of action. Ohio State is coached by Linda Kalafatis, who is in her ninth year with the team.

A Look at the Boilermakers
The Purdue softball team (31-18-1, 7-7 Big Ten) split their weekend contests with Wisconsin and Minnesota, while also garnering a win and a tie against Valparaiso in a midweek contest. The Badgers won Friday's meeting 8-3 in nine innings, but the Boilermakers answered with a 10-4 win. The Golden Gophers took Game 1 8-4 on Sunday, but Purdue rebounded with a 9-0 mercy rule win.

Senior Andrea Hillsey leads the team with a .377 average, including a team-high 37 runs and 14 doubles. The second baseman has registered a team-best 22 extra base hits, including seven home runs. Hillsey is one of seven Boilermakers, along with senior Shelli Messer, redshirt junior Kristen Schell and sophomores DaQueta Johnson, Katie Fortune, Erika Peterson and Catherine Zaworski, to have posted a home run this season. Messer owns a .329 average to go with her 7-for-10 effort on the base paths. Junior Staci Falzon boasts a .299 average, including four triples, and has accounted for six steals. Senior Katie Absher is batting .293 to go with a team-best eight steals, while junior Tricia Lilley is batting .285 with five steals. Johnson owns a .271 average and has driven in a team-high 40 RBI and launched a team-best seven home runs. As a team, Purdue is batting .275 and are 47-of-64 on the base paths.

On the mound, junior Diana LaRiva (12-4) owns a team-best 1.88 ERA and has dealt opponents 135 strikeouts in 122 innings of work. Sophomore Brooke Baker (13-13) has seen the majority of the time on the hill, striking out 106 in 158 innings of action. Freshman Melissa Burns (6-2) has struck out 58 batters in 64 innings in the circle and has earned three saves for the Boilermakers. The pitching staff, which boasts a 2.50 ERA, has tossed nine shutouts, a no-hitter and three one-hitters this season

What a Difference a Win Makes ...

If Purdue tops Penn State on Friday ...

• It will move the team's record to 32-19-1 on the season.

• It will move the team's Big Ten record to 8-7, just one win away from tying the highest conference win tally since the 2001 season, when the team went 9-11.

• It will move the team's record to 135-130-2 when playing in the month of April, including a 3-5 mark when playing on April 29.

And the Honor Goes To ...
Junior Diana LaRiva garnered Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors for the third time this season after posting a 3-0 record and allowing just three earned runs in four appearances last weekend. The honor is the sixth for the Boilermakers this season.

LaRiva is the second three-time honoree in Boilermaker history. Senior second baseman Andrea Hillsey garnered Player of the Week honors in 2002, before repeating the accolades twice this season. Entering the season, Purdue players had earned Player/Pitcher of the Week honors 10 times.

Members of the Boilermaker softball team garnered Big Ten Player and Pitcher of the Week accolades on Feb. 15 and Feb. 22, marking the first time Purdue has had back-to-back honorees since 1997. The Boilermakers had another pair earn the conference honors on March 15.

Hillsey and LaRiva swept the Big Ten Player and Pitcher of the Week honors on Feb. 15 after outstanding performances at the Hilton Classic in Las Cruces, N.M. Sophomore DaQueta Johnson garnered Player of the Week honors on Feb. 22 for her efforts at the Louisiana Classic in Lafayette, La., the following weekend. Hillsey and LaRiva swept the conference honors again on March 15 after their respective performances at the Speedline Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. The last time Purdue players earned Player of the Week honors three times in a season was in April 1997 when Kristie Boland, Jenn Blasnick and Jenny Schoen were so honored.

Taking A Walk
Senior Andrea Hillsey became the Purdue career record holder for bases on balls with a pair of walks against Western Illinois on March 18. The second baseman entered the season with 76 walks, good for third place behind Jesse Jones (94) and Heidi Foster (79). She then passed Foster with a trio of walks against UMKC on Feb. 11 at the Hilton Classic in Las Cruces, N.M. The White Lake, Mich., native tied Jones' record with a free pass against Hofstra on March 11, before taking the record for her own with the walks from the Westerwinds. With four walks from Minnesota, the senior boosted her record total to 110.

Hillsey also owns the single-season walk record, drawing 40 her sophomore season. The All-American is no stranger to the Purdue career record books as she ranks in the top five for batting average (1st with .375), on-base percentage (1st with .487), slugging percentage (2nd with .533), runs (2nd with 133) and sacrifice flies (5th with 6). She also is approaching the top five in several other categories.

Among the Nation
Boilermaker players rank among the top 25 in the nation in three statistical categories. Senior Andrea Hillsey ranks 15th in walks per game (0.67) with 34 in 51 games, and 16th in toughest to strikeout with only six Ks in 138 at bats. Freshman Melissa Burns ranks 25th in saves with three. The current statistical rankings include games through April 24.

All-Tournament Accolades
The Boilermakers put players on the all-tournament teams at four of their six non-conference tournaments, the Hilton Classic, the Louisiana Classic, Buzz Classic, and the Wolfpack Challenge. No all-tournament team was named at the Frost Classic, and all-tournament team members for the Speedline Invitational were picked from the championship bracket only. Senior Andrea Hillsey and junior Diana LaRiva were honored after their performances at the Hilton Classic in Las Cruces, N.M. Hillsey, senior Shelli Messer and sophomore DaQueta Johnson garnered accolades at the Louisiana Classic in Lafayette, La. Messer also received the honor at the Buzz Classic. Hillsey, LaRiva and sophomore Brooke Baker garnered the honor at the Wolfpack Challenge in Raleigh, N.C.

A Girl For All Seasons
Sophomore right fielder DaQueta Johnson (Ontario, Calif.) hit her fourth sacrifice fly of the season against Valparaiso, putting her fourth among the single-season top five list in the category. The sac fly breaks Johnson out of a seven-way tie for fifth and moves her into a four-place tie with Heidi Foster (2003). Junior Staci Falzon tallied her fourth triple of the season, tying her for fourth place on that single-season list, a roster that includes teammate Andrea Hillsey (4 in 2003). Freshman pitcher Melissa Burns (Miami, Fla.) made her way into fourth place on the saves list when she picked up her third, against Central Florida. Five other players have tallied three saves in a season, including teammate Diana LaRiva (2003).

As a team, the Boilermakers have reached the single-season top five in hit by pitches (3rd with 29), sacrifice flies (2nd with 13), walks (2nd with 131) and saves (5th with 5). The single season records in those categories are 34 HBPs (2003), 18 sacrifice flies (2003), 166 walks (2003) and 11 saves (1997, 2001).