STARKVILLE, Mississippi — Purdue pitcher Alex Echazarreta helped her cause in the best way possible, hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning that proved to be the winning run in the Boilermakers' 2-1 win over North Dakota State on Wednesday.
Echazarreta and Bison starter Lainey Lyle were locked in a scoreless duel through four innings but NDSU got to Echazarreta in the fifth on Carley Goetschius' run-scoring single.
Purdue tied the game in the home half of the inning on Jordyn Ramos' RBI single and Echazarreta connected off Lyle leading off the sixth. In the seventh, she hit a batter with two outs but got a ground out to end the game.
Echazarreta went the distance, allowing the run on four hits. She walked one and struck out three. Lyle took the loss, going five innings and giving up two runs on seven hits. Reliever Piper Reed got three outs in the sixth after Echazarreta's homer.
The Bison dropped to 14-11 overall. They play Purdue again at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 16, in their first game of the Rebel Invitational in Oxford, Mississippi.
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