Purdue dominates IU to take lead in Cup

Self-destruction was the name of the game for the Hoosiers over the weekend as they were dominated by archrival Purdue in a weekend doubleheader.\nThe Hoosiers were defeated 8-0 Saturday in West Lafayette, before falling 11-0 Sunday in Bloomington in front of a capacity crowd on Senior Day. Both games ended after six innings as the eight run mercy rule came into play. \nThe victories led the Boilermakers to a 9.5-8.5 lead in the Crimson and Gold Cup standings. The 9.5 points for Purdue also represent the most points the Boilers have scored since the Cup’s inception 3 years ago.\nIU Head Coach Stacey Phillips was disappointed afterward and blamed the Hoosiers’ poor defense and slow starts for the result. \n“Defensively, we didn’t play our defensive game we are used to playing,” Phillips said. “We really didn’t come out and swing the bat the way we wanted to. Early on, obviously when you get down, it is almost like a domino effect.” \nThe game started ugly for the Hoosiers on Saturday as the Boilers scored three runs in the second inning to pace the dominating victory. On Sunday, the Hoosiers spotted the Boilers a 3-0 lead without the benefit of a hit as senior pitcher Christy Wahl gave up three walks and allowed all three runners to score on wild pitches. \nPhillips said the uneven pitching early on was a contributing factor to the outcome.\n“The early parts of a game set the tone a little bit for the rest of the game, obviously if we were able to keep them off the base paths early on, we could have set a better tone,” she said. \nThe game also meant saying goodbye to four seniors: Heather Hohs, Kim Richards and Rachel Terry, along with Wahl.\nHohs, who plays right field, said after the game that a hit for her on Senior Day did not offset the bitterness of getting swept by their archrivals.\n“I think when we lose to Purdue in the first place and then a doubleheader to them (is disappointing),” Hohs said. “Everybody is really trying to work hard and work through it and (the team) is going to come out next year and be firing.”\nIU’s offense was shut down throughout the weekend, managing only five hits over two games. Two came from junior third baseman Jennilee Huddleston, who raised her team’s leading batting average to .335 to close the season.\n“It is always good to go out with a win on the season and you want the seniors to get to win in their last game, so it is definitely a little disappointing,” Huddleston said.\nThe Hoosiers close the season at 21-34 and 1-19 in the Big Ten, while Purdue improved to 32-31 and 10-9 in Big Ten play. \nWith the blues of this season behind them, Phillips is confident the Hoosiers can get their level of play back to where it was in 2006 when the Hoosiers swept Purdue and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years.\n“I feel this is a transition year for us and although we’re losing four great seniors, our returning kids will get better and we’ll have some incoming kids in our first recruiting class next fall,” Phillips said.