Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Purdue
Softball Blasts Purdue, 8-3
4/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 8, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State pounded out 13 hits and took advantage of six Purdue errors for a 8-3 victory over the Boilermakers Sunday afternoon at Old College Field on the MSU campus. MSU improves to 15-26 (2-4 Big Ten) for the season, while the Boilermakers fall to 26-15-1 (3-5).
Natalie Furrow (Fr., San Diego, Calif.) led the Spartans offensively, going 3-for-4 with three RBI to up her Big Ten batting average to a team-high .500 (9-for-18). Tiffany Wallace (So., Wildomar, Calif.), Jessica Beech (Fr., Okemos, Mich.), Amanda Melton (Jr., Saugus, Calif.) and Angel Merren (Fr., Wayland, Mich.) all had two hits each for MSU.
Purdue got on the board first, scoring two in the second and one in the third for an early 3-0 lead. The Spartans, who were the visitors due to Big Ten rules, struck back in the top of the fourth with a sacrifice fly from Shealee Dunavan (Sr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) and a RBI single from Wallace.
The number four was the theme in the fifth inning, as MSU took a 6-3 lead with four runs and four hits on four Boilermaker errors. Beech, Melton, Dunavan and Brittney Green (Fr., Simi Valley, Calif.) all scored in the inning for the Spartans, while Furrow knocked in two runs with a single to left.
Michigan State added two insurance runs in the sixth to increase the lead to 8-3.
Beech, who relieved starting pitcher Keri DeJong (Jr., Portage, Mich.) in the fourth, held the Boilermakers to just two hits in the final four innings to earn her fifth win of the season (5-7). Meagan Dooley (8-5) allowed three runs and five hits in 1.1 innings in the loss for PU.
Michigan State returns to action Wednesday, April 11 to face Eastern Michigan in a single game at 4:00 p.m. in Ypsilanti.
NOTES:
* Jessica Beech tied a MSU single-game record with three stolen bases.
* Shealee Dunavan stole her career-high 12th stolen base of the season.
Game Summary R H EMSU 000 242 0- 8 13 1PU 021 000 0- 3 7 6
WP: Beech-MSU (5-7)LP: Dooley-PU (8-5)
