But with one dreadful inning,
After Suzie Rzegocki held an Illinois team with 34 home runs to just a double and a single in a 4-1 victory, the Illini were propelled by a six-run third inning to capture the nightcap 10-6 and leap back ahead of the Boilermakers into fifth place.
"We really needed to sweep this team," said freshman Molly Garst, who was 3-for-7 with three RBIs and three stolen bases in the doubleheader. "We didn't capitalize at the plate, and we really needed the win (in the second game)."
Jenna Alexander drove in two runs, and Garst drove in another during the Boilermakers' Game 1 victory, but the offense was nonexistent in the second contest until it was too late.
Purdue fell behind 6-0 and trailed 10-3 before scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh on a pair of home runs.
Rzegocki, who started both games, didn't allow an earned run in 92/3 of work Wednesday, but earned a victory and a defeat after surrendering four unearned runs in the six-run third.
Dana Alcocer relieved Rzegocki in the third inning and gave up consecutive RBI doubles. Alcocer allowed nine hits and four earned runs in 22/3 innings before Ashley DiDomenico entered in the sixth.
Alcocer hit two batters with the bases loaded.
"We could not shut them down in the circle, we got behind batters, we hit batters, we allowed back-to-back doubles, it just wasn't good in the circle for us," Purdue coach Kim Maher said.
Katie Mitchell finally put Purdue on the board, hitting a solo homer over the right field fence to make the score 6-1.
Garst's two-RBI single in the fifth made 7-3, but the Illini countered with three runs in the top of the sixth.
Purdue got a two-run homer from Liane Horiuchi in the bottom of the seventh for the game's final runs.
Maher said that most of the runs came with the pressure off after the Boilermakers gave up a large lead.http://www.jconline.com/article/20090430/SPORTS0201/904300325
