Junior Shelly Floyd gave Western an insurance run in the top of the seventh when her sacrifice fly scored junior Renita Pennington (Floyd’s third RBI of the game), then sophomore Adrienne Lathrop sealed the win by striking out the final batter with runners on the corners. The 6-5 victory avenged a pair of losses Western suffered last season in Bowling Green at the hands of the Boilermakers.
The win over Purdue improved WKU’s record to 4-0 on the season, marking the team’s best start in it’s five-year history. The Hilltoppers previous best came in the 2001 and 2002 season, as Western opened both campaigns at 2-0. The Hilltoppers, who won the Sonic Challenge in 2002, are the tournament’s lone remaining undefeated team and will look to secure the championship on Sunday, when they close out the event against Samford and Dayton.
Western Kentucky 3, Miami (Ohio) 1
A career outing from Sevco carried the Hilltoppers in the team’s first game of the day, as the sophomore hurler picked up her first collegiate win by holding the RedHawks to three hits. Sevco (1-0) pitched four innings of no-hit ball and took a shutout into the seventh inning, before Miami’s Becca Garcia put her team on the board with a two-out RBI double. Sevco forced the next batter to groundout to wrap up her first win, as well as her first complete game, after striking out a career-high seven batters.
Sevco did her part at the plate as well, tacking on an insurance run in the top of the seventh with an RBI double to score pinch runner Becky Minnis (running in place of sophomore Bailey Rolfs, who reached on a single). Pinch hitter Sam Hansen followed with an RBI single, driving home pinch runner Renikka Toliver, to make it 3-0.
With the score tied at 0-0 through five innings, the Hilltoppers finally got on the board in the top of the sixth as senior Riley Garcia scored off a wild pitch by Miami’s Jackie Poggendorf. Garcia went 2-for-3 on the day, with a pair of singles, to pace the Toppers.
Western Kentucky 6, Purdue 5
Western spotted the Boilermakers a quick 4-0 lead, but overcame their deficit with a monster fifth inning, with two RBI a piece from senior Jessie Richardson and Floyd, to take an eventual 6-5 victory. Schwartz came on in relief of senior Allison Silver in the bottom of the third and cruised before allowing a run in the bottom of the seventh. Lathrop relieved Schwartz with two on and two out and struck out Shelli Messer to earn the save and give WKU a 6-5 win.
Floyd and Richardson combined for five RBI in the winning effort, with Floyd leading the Hilltoppers with a 3-for-3 day at the plate and a team-high seven putouts. Freshman Alana Towns, making her first collegiate start, went 1-for-2 at the plate with one run scored and one stolen base.
Freshman Lindsay Gatti, pinch hitting for Pennington, came to bat in the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and picked up an RBI after being hit by a pitch from Purdue’s Brooke Baker. Richardson followed with a two-run single, scoring Towns and senior Riley Garcia, to make it 4-3. Floyd came up next and stroked a two-run double, driving in Pennington and Richardson, to put Western ahead, 5-4.
Pennington led off the top of the seventh with a triple to right-centerfield, the first extra base hit of her career, and scored two batters later off Floyd’s sac fly. The insurance run paid off when Purdue pulled within one run after a RBI sacrifice fly from Andrea Hillsey. Schwartz got the next batter to foul out, but then surrendered a single to Purdue’s Kristen Schell to put runners on the corners. Schwartz threw the first strike to Messer, but then gave way to Lathrop, who fired the final to strikes to pick up the second save of her career.
The Boilermakers put a two spot on the board in the first inning, compliments of back-to-back RBI doubles from DaQueta Johnson and Schell. After retiring the Boilermakers in order in the bottom of the second, Silver again ran into trouble in the third, as Purdue tacked on two more runs to make it 4-0. Silver surrendered consecutive walks to Angela Knight and Andrea Hillsey, who would both go on to score after RBI singles from Schell and Messer. Schwartz came on in relief of Silver with two runners on and two outs, and prevented any further damage by getting Staci Falzon to fly out to leftfield.
