Purdue SB Silences Fighting Irish

Purdue SB Silences Fighting Irish

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Purdue (8-24, 1-2 B1G) took down one of the ACC’s top programs this season with a dominant performance over Notre Dame (21-11, 5-3 ACC) at Melissa Cook Stadium. Sydney Bates earned a complete-game victory against the Fighting Irish using just 64 pitches as the Boilermakers won 4-1. 

Bates turned in the best performance of her collegiate career against Notre Dame, holding the Fighting Irish to just one run on two hits and a walk. The redshirt freshman transfer registered three innings in which she retired the side in order and fielded her position well earning three assists in the game. Bates has been more of a strikeout pitcher this season, however pitching to contact paid off as she registered just one strikeout against the 26 batters she faced. Notre Dame entered the day owning the third-best overall record in the ACC and ranked as the top hitting program in the conference with a team batting average of .313 on the year. 

Stephanie Ramsey and Alexa Binckes continue to terrorize opponents at the plate as the led a seven-hit effort. Ramsey sparked Purdue’s offense in the second inning when she led off by reaching on an error, stealing second and advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt by Rachel Krzysko. Mallory Baker later roped a ball off the pitcher with two outs in the inning to score Ramsey and give Purdue a 1-0 advantage. Following a home run by the Fighting Irish in the fourth, Ramsey reclaimed the lead in the sixth with a two-out RBI single up the middle scoring Maddie Damon who was running for Binckes after she had doubled to begin the inning. 

Binckes provided insurance the ensuing inning with another double with two outs to score Maya Hughes and Jenny Behan. Bates needed just six pitches in the bottom of the seventh to secure the victory for the Boilermakers. 

The lone Boilermaker to register two hits in the contest was Binckes who extends her hitting streak to seven games. She has 10 hits in her last 19 at-bats giving her a .526 batting average in that span. Ramsey is enjoying similar success as she is now 9-for-19 in her last six games. To go along with her .474 batting average in that span, she has also scored four runs and driven in six. 

Baker, Behan, Krzysko and Halle Hixenbaugh all registered a hit in the contest as well. Hixenbaugh earned her 12th hit of March, keeping her batting average just above .300 for the month. 

Purdue travels to Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Thursday for its first road trip of Big Ten play. The Boilermakers begin their three-game series with the Wolverines on Friday, March 30, at 4 p.m. ET.