College softball doesn’t hand out three stars of the game like hockey, but if it did, Purdue assistant coach Heather Gelbard might’ve earned herself a standing ovation Wednesday.
And she did it from her squad’s dugout.
Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth in what would ultimately become a Big Ten Tournament opening-round loss to the Boilermakers (29-22-0, 9-13 Big Ten), Northwestern began to show the offensive spark it had been missing through the first half of the game.
Junior infielder Bridget Donahey reached base on a botched bunt play to lead off the frame, and freshman utility player Avery Garden, batting as a pinch hitter, followed with an RBI triple to put the Wildcats (29-18-1, 16-6 Big Ten) down just one run.
But after a quick conference with Gelbard in the dugout, Purdue coach Magali Frezzotti stepped out to the infield foul line and caught the umpire’s attention to use one of her two video review challenges. She argued that Donahey had left first base before the ball left the pitcher’s hand.
When the umpire removed his headset and signaled that the call had been overturned, Purdue’s crowd erupted — and one of its other assistants, former NU catcher and one of the best players in program history, Jordyn Rudd-Lee, looked especially giddy.
The play was called dead, Donahey was ruled out and Garden returned to the batter’s box like nothing had happened.
Frezzotti told Big Ten Network postgame that it was Gelbard who encouraged her to challenge the play.
To add insult to injury, back-to-back strikeouts ended the fourth inning. The No. 12 seed Boilermakers retained their two-run lead into the fifth and held on to hand the No. 5 seed ’Cats a 4-2 loss, likely ending their season.
NU entered the contest fresh off a successful weekend in Los Angeles that featured two upset victories over then-No. 8 UCLA. The ’Cats seemed to find their best recipe for success right at the moment it mattered most: the postseason precipice.
Following some early-season stumbles, graduate student pitcher Lauren Boyd had recently risen to the occasion, recording six wins in her last six starts and holding a lethal Bruin offense to just three runs in 13 innings. Among Big Ten pitchers who have tossed more than 60 innings this season, Boyd is second in ERA.
But as the ’Cats returned to the field for their first-round affair in West Lafayette, Indiana, Wednesday, Boyd wasn’t in the circle to start. Redshirt freshman pitcher Signe Dohse was.
Missing two of its typical starters, Purdue’s offense got to work right away, scoring a run in the first inning through a string of small-ball plays that included a choppy ground ball to the mound and a bunt mishandled by Donahey.
Following a hit by pitch to load the bases, the Boilermakers didn’t need to hit the ball out of the infield to score. Their first run came on a deep grounder to shortstop, which freshman infielder Kaylie Avvisato opted to throw to first, allowing the runner to come home.
Following subsequent scoreless half innings for both squads, sophomore outfielder Isabel Cunnea got the ’Cats on the board with a high-flying home run that just barely landed over the left field fence.
The Boilermakers tacked on additional runs in both the third and fourth innings, one on another fielder’s choice play, and another on a solo shot of their own. By then, the score was 3-1, setting the stage for Donahey’s critical mistake on the basepaths in the bottom of the frame.
Sophomore pitcher Renae Cunningham, who entered the game in the third inning in relief, held the Boilermakers to a scoreless fifth inning. Then, coach Kate Drohan’s group strung together three consecutive singles in the fifth, and Avvisato scored to trim the Purdue lead to one.
Following a 1-2-3 inning at the plate in the sixth, Purdue pitcher Julia Gossett delivered the final blow: her second home run of the game. On a day she threw more than 150 pitches, Gossett shut the door on the ’Cats from both the circle and the batter’s box en route to Purdue’s first win in a Big Ten Tournament game since 2019.
Boyd entered the game to pitch with one out in the sixth inning, but NU couldn’t deliver at the plate despite a strong start to their final chance at bat.
Senior outfielder Ayana Lindsey drew a leadoff, seventh-inning walk, and senior infielder Grace Nieto followed up with a single through the left side. It appeared the ’Cats had a chance.
But when Avvisato struck out and Lindsey was caught stealing on the same pitch, NU’s early exit seemed inevitable. When junior infielder Kansas Robinson stepped up, she hit a line out to shortstop to end the game, sealing the ’Cats exit.
Now, NU will wait. Once viewed as a potential at-large NCAA Tournament team, the ’Cats resume takes a serious hit with an early upset loss to 12th seeded Purdue. Its fate rests in the hands of the selection committee, with the tournament field set to be announced Sunday at 6 p.m.
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