March 31, 2007
West Lafayette, Ind. -
After giving up a run in the first inning Friday, Purdue starting pitcher Brooke Baker had held Illinois scoreless nine straight innings. It looked as if she was on her way to number 10 after retiring the first two batters of the fourth inning Saturday. Instead the bottom of the Illinois order helped ignite a six-run two-out rally and the Illini completed a six-inning, 8-0 victory.
The victory, the 250th in Illinois history, gave the Illini a split of their first two-game series in conference play and improved their overall record to 22-13 on the season. Purdue falls to 18-23-1.
Freshman pitcher Vicky Brown had one of her top performances in tossing a six-inning four-hit shutout. Brown allowed only two runners to reach second base to post her ninth complete game and third shutout of the year.
"For Vicky confidence is half the battle," said Illinois head coach Terri Sullivan. "When you believe in your team behind you, you are able to throw with authority. Anytime you see fly outs and pop ups, you know her ball is moving well."
"Determination was a big factor for me today," Brown added. "(Catcher) Lana (Armstrong) did a great job of mixing it up. Coach said that a bad first game sets you up for a great comeback. I took that to heart and just tried to hit my spots."
Armstrong, the Big Ten Player-of-the-Week, was 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI and her 10th home run of the season. Kisten Martin posted her fourth home run of the year giving the Illini multiple home runs for the 16th time this season and 52 total long balls for the year.
The big six-run fourth started with a sharp base hit up the middle from Molly Lawhead and a bloop single from Sarah Bryers.
"We were talking between innings that we just needed one igniter," said Sullivan. "We got that from Molly and Sarah Bryers with two outs. They were just singles, but hitting is contagious and those really got the team going again offensively."
A hustling Hope Howell beat out an infield single as Lawhead scored the first run of the game. Angelena Mexicano continued the hit parade with a single to center plating Bryers before Shanna Diller delivered RBIs number 27 and 28 with a double into the left-field gap, making it 4-0. Armstrong put an exclamation point on the rally with a two-run homer to center.
Kisten Martin added a solo shot to lead off the fifth inning and Armstrong ended it with her 39th RBI of the year, nine off a school record, with a run-scoring double in the bottom of the sixth. It gave Illinois the run rule victory as the skies let open and the rain came down.
The victory, coming on the heels to an 8-1 loss on Friday, gives Illinois momentum heading into a doubleheader at Indiana on Sunday.
"This team has shown that resiliency all season, whether it's in games or from game-to-game," Sullivan said. "I felt a couple times we were on the money with the ball yesterday, but we hit a few right at people and pressed a little at the plate. We believe in our offense and know it's not going to stay quiet for long."
