It was great to be on campus this past weekend. The weather was perfect and I simply enjoyed the atmosphere walking around a crowded, active campus. Not only was the spring game going on, but there was a track meet, a pair of baseball games, and a pair of softball games. It looked like the annual spring festival was going on around Lily and everything as well. Unfortunately, the results on the field were not as good.
- Baseball is swept by Ohio State - The sad thing is that they were so close to returning the favor. Matt Bischoff went the distance in Friday afternoon's game, surrendering just a home run to Ryan Dew at the start of the eight innings. Unfortunately, he got no run support in a 1-0 loss. Bad weather on Sunday moved that game to Saturday as part of a doubleheader and Purdue dropped both ends 7-4 and 11-10. Brandon Haveman was 3 for 4 in the first game as Purdue held a 2-1 lead, but gave up four runs in the fifth thanks to four straight hits. In the second game Saturday Purdue held a 3-0 lead, then fell behind 9-3 before clawing back. In that game, just as the first game of the series, Purdue had the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth but was unable to get it home. Purdue (16-18, 5-6) is now in fifth place in the conference, but holds only a half game lead over Michigan, Penn State, and Michigan State. With the sweep Ohio State moved to #25 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
- Softball splits doubleheader with #10 Northwestern - National power Northwestern visited Purdue on Saturday for a softball double header and the Boilers were able to get their second win over a top 10 team this season in game one. Purdue won 2-0 behind the pitching of Dana Alcocer. Purdue managed just one hit in the game, and it didn't even figure into the scoring. Purdue got both runs in the fourth inning thanks to a pair of walks, a sacrifice, and a wild pitch. The second game didn't go as well as Purdue couldn't manage enough offense in a 10-8 loss to the Wildcats. It is the first time since 1997 that Purdue has managed a pair of wins over top 10 teams in one season. Purdue (23-16, 6-6) has now played the toughest two teams in the conference and should be in great shape for a second straight NCAA bid.
- Track and Field has final home meet of the season - The Dave Rankin Invitational was held at the Rankin Track and Field complex this weekend, adding to a busy atmosphere on the northwest side of campus. A couple of individuals were able to notch NCAA qualifying marks on the day. Sophomore Bill Hardcastle qualified in the shot put with a throw of 17.18 meters. Junior Eric Sparks cleared 5.35 meters in the pole vault, a Big Ten best mark for the season. Senior Ben Pax also qualified for the NCAA meet with a third place finish in the pole vault of 5.05 meters. Full results can be found here.
- Point guard Lauren Mioton named top female senior student - The honors continue to come in for the senior point guard, as she received the Flora Roberts Award for outstanding graduating female student on Monday. This girl has done it all. Rhodes Scholar Finalist, homecoming queen, and she filled in when FahKara Malone was out with a gruesome finger injury. She has also published a pair of cookbooks to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims.
- LewJack pleads guilty - I will have more on this later, but LewJack plead guilty today to illegal alcohol consumption and possession of drug paraphernalia in court over in Illinois. It sounds like it was a pretty open and shut case, so why not plead guilty. Now Matt Painter gets ahold of him.