against Ohio State.
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against Ohio State. |
April 13, 1999
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue softball team (22-16, 3-4 Big Ten) will take its show on the road again this week. The Boilermakers will visit Ohio State (11-20, 1-7) on Wednesday for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. EST.
By winning two games at Michigan State on Saturday, the Boilers moved up to fifth place in the Big Ten standings. The top five teams in the final conference standings will play in the Big Ten Tournament. The doubleheader sweep over MSU also improved Purdue's record on the road to 5-1.
"We're fired up and we want to keep climbing in the standings," assistant coach Christy Connoyer says. "We look at it one game at a time and our goal is to keep moving up."
At this point, most teams have completed one-third of the Big Ten schedule. Defending champion Michigan, ranked sixth in the nation, currently leads the conference with an 8-0 record. The regular season champion will host the Big Ten tourney. The top three teams in the standings will be guaranteed double-elimination, while the fourth and fifth place teams will play a single game for the final spot in the double-elimination pool.
Purdue's success on Saturday was primarily due to its solid defense and pitching. The Boilers committed one error on the day and allowed three earned runs in 14 innings. Freshman Nicole Crouse (10-8) lowered her ERA to a team-best 1.94 with a three-hit shutout in game one. Offensively, Purdue is currently hitting .285, third-best in the conference, with five players over .300.
Ohio State is coming off an upset win over No. 25 Iowa on Sunday. The Buckeyes defeated the Hawkeyes 8-7 in eight innings for their first win in the Big Ten. As a team, Ohio State is hitting .258 led by Jaime Chenevey (.353) and Stacy Roth (.315). On the mound, Meaghan Robinson (5-3) is the team's ace with a 1.06 ERA in 59.1 innings. Defensively, the Buckeyes have a .947 fielding percentage. Last season, Ohio State swept a doubleheader from Purdue in West Lafayette.