By Seth Schwartz
Staff Writer

Despite splitting a pair of two game series against Northwestern and Iowa, the Purdue softball team ended its weekend with what Coach Carol Bruggeman called the team's best game this season.

The Boilers (27-22, 4-6 Big Ten) beat 13th-ranked Iowa 1-0 on Sunday. The Hawkeyes (31-8, 7-1) were undefeated going into the game and are now second in the Big Ten standings behind Michigan.

Bruggeman was satisfied that Purdue held on for the victory in a close game.

"We've found ways to win a lot of them, and we've lost a lot of them," she said. "I can't tell you how proud I am of this team because they played great defense to beat the 13th-ranked team in the country with our pitching."

The rest of the weekend wasn't as exciting. In the first game on Friday against Northwestern, the Boilers gave up 17 runs and had four errors in a 17-5 loss. The Boilers had rallied from a 7-1 deficit to make it 7-5, but in the seventh inning, Northwestern erupted for 10 runs, capped off by a grand slam homerun by Brooke Siebel.

In Friday's second game against Northwestern, Meagan Dooley pitched a complete game in the 6-2 win. She gave up two unearned runs and four hits. However, the Boiler defense again faltered, giving up another four errors to the Wildcats. Purdue scored two runs in the fifth inning to break a 2-2 tie and then added another two runs in the seventh.

On Saturday, the Boilermakers played their first game against Iowa. The offense failed to produce any runs as Purdue lost 4-0. Iowa broke the game open in the fourth inning, when it scored three runs off of two hits and an error. Leighann Burke (8-9, 2.47 ERA) pitched well, allowing only one earned run while striking out five, breaking the 100 strike out mark and increasing her team leading total to102 this season.

Purdue finally got over its defensive problems for the weekend on Sunday against Iowa in the 1-0 shutout victory. Iowa walked three batters in the first inning, and Andrea Roush scored on a wild pitch for the game's lone run.

Bruggeman said that the Boilers just seemed to want the win more than Iowa did.

Dooley (10-7, 0.55 ERA) had a terrific weekend, including earning the big victory against Iowa. She pitched a total of 14 innings between her two games this weekend, allowing only two unearned runs and six hits.

Dooley said that the win over Iowa was huge because it showed the team how well it can play.

"The game really showed us how we could come together as a team," she said. "That is what the game is about."