The Eastern softball team lost a pair of games against Big Ten power Purdue in West Lafayette Wednesday.

In the first game, Eastern was held hitless by senior Leighann Burke and dropped the opener 9-0. The southpaw allowed only one Panther base runner (Kristen Becker, in the second inning) to reach home plate, and that was courtesy of an error by shortstop Tricia Lilley. Burke improved to 17-10 and faced just 19 batters in six innings of work.

The Boilermakers (29-20) opened up with a run in the first when Andrea Hillsey lined a base hit up the middle, scoring Angi Roembke. The score stayed that way until the fifth.

It was in the fifth when Purdue put the game out of reach. With two outs and Roembke on second, Jesse Jones hit a grounder that was misplayed by second baseman Jenny Cervetto. Roembke scored on the miscue. The next batter, Andrea Roush, lined a two-run homer to left to for the game’s cumulating blow. The Boilermakers scored a total of three unearned on just two hits during the critical fifth.

Panther head coach Lloydene Searle said Purdue’s pitching was the difference, but despite the loss, she found positives in the first game.

“They (Purdue’s pitchers) were awesome today,” Searle said. “We didn’t get a hit in the first game. They are a very talented team.”

One of the positives Searle was alluding to was Panthers ace Kristen Becker. The Belleville native allowed nine runs (six earned) on 12 hits while striking out three.

“Kristen had a great first game,” Searle said. “She did a good job.”

Despite having a no-hit first game, the Panthers had high hopes for the second game. It appeared the Panthers had gotten out of their rut when Kristin Darnell got the Panthers’ first hit of the series with a one-out single to left. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they would get only one more base hit on the day.

“At first we thought it would definitely be hard to play the second game after getting no-hit,” Searle said. “We started off good with a hit in the first but couldn’t get much else. Later, we had a couple of strikeouts looking, and we just couldn’t recover.”

Purdue didn’t allow Eastern to ‘recover’ after an eight-run first inning off Panthers pitcher Ashley Condon. Lilley led off the game with a homer to left field, and the hits kept on coming. The Boilers’ first five batters reached base and had scored three runs when the Panthers recorded their first out.

Purdue would tack on another run in the second when right fielder Angela Knight had a two-out base hit off relief pitcher Jen Green to score Jones.

Purdue scored two more runs in the fourth on a double by catcher Kristen Schell and a single by left fielder Cheryl Buergler to open up an 11-run lead.

The Panthers needed to score two runs in the top of the fifth to avoid losing by the 10-run rule but could muster only one hit in the inning.

According to Searle, the game was much closer than the final score indicated.

“They (Purdue) had 12 hits that were bloopers,” Searle said. “(The hits) were like adding insult to injury.”

Although Searle was disappointed with the outcome, she noted the games were non-conference, and said the Panthers will be ready this weekend for a critical three-game series against conference rival Eastern Kentucky.

“Despite the loss, we still the opportunity to do good things in the Ohio Valley Conference,” Searle said. “This loss gives us a lot of incentive this weekend. Hopefully the loss will motivate the rest of the season in the OVC.”