April 1, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Penn State softball team could not solve the Purdue riddle on Sunday, falling to the first-place Boilermakers, 5-0. Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) collected a pair of hits including the first triple of the year, capping a 7-for-11 weekend. The Nittany Lions head back to Happy Valley for their home opener against Pittsburgh at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
For the third straight game of the series, Purdue (22-9, 6-0 Big Ten) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. With the bases loaded and no outs, a slow roller to second was bobbled allowing Molly Garst to score and Andie Varsho walked home as an unearned run with two outs.
Meanwhile, Bell tallied two hits on the day the first a lead-off single in the opening frame then a one-out triple in the top of the third. She was left there after a lineout to first and a strikeout.
The Boilermakers tacked on two more runs in the fifth with back-to-back hits, a throwing error and a two-out single by Tori Chiodo to left. Purdue added an RBI ground out in the bottom of the sixth to cap the scoring at 5-0.
Penn State starter Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) went all six innings, striking out seven with four earned runs and eight hits allowed. Akamine struck out 16 Boilermakers this weekend in 12 innings of work. Boiler starter Lexy Moore improved to 15-2 with two strikeouts.
Penn State returns home for the first time this season to face Pittsburgh on Tuesday (3:00 p.m.) for a doubleheader. All fans attending the game will receive free posters and schedule magnets. The doubleheader will be broadcast live on BTN.com with live stats on GameTracker and updates on Twitter (@PSULionSoftball) and Facebook (PennStateSoftball).
--NITTANY LIONS--