Softball team travels to Purdue

The IU women's softball team will close out the 2005 season by travelling to West Lafayette 1 p.m. Saturday to face Purdue and then head back to Bloomington to face its archrivals again on Sunday. \nSunday's game against the Boilermakers will be broadcast live on WIUS starting at 1 p.m.\nThe Hoosiers are coming off two tough losses to Penn State last weekend, extending the IU losing streak to four games. Although the Hoosiers, (13-39, Big Ten 2-16) allowed only five runs in the doubleheader against the Nittany Lions, the team managed to score only two in both games combined.\nDespite the lack of runs against Penn State, the Hoosiers will look to keep the hot bats of sophomore Rachel Terry and redshirt sophomore Tory Yamaguchi aflame.\nIn the last seven games, Terry is batting .529 with a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored while Yamaguchi is hitting .348 with three home runs, five RBI and five runs scored.\nIU will face a Purdue team bringing in a 32-22 overall record into the match up, with an 8-10 mark in conference play. The Boilermakers have almost locked up a bid for the Big Ten Tournament. The only way Purdue could miss the tourney is if the Hoosiers win both games and Illinois, Minnesota and Penn State swept their remaining games.\nDespite their near assurance of a spot in the tournament, Purdue has struggled as of late, losing three of their last four, and nine of their last 16.\nSunday's game in Bloomington will mark the end of two Hoosier softball careers. Seniors Ashley Griffiths and Katie Witham will play their last game in an IU uniform. Griffiths played in 183 games with 177 starts and totalled more than 100 hits as a Hoosier. Witham played in 89 games with 55 starts and held a 3.32 ERA her freshman year.