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GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 21 • 26 Both squads are in action again on March 1 when the men host Bradley and the women open Big Ten competition at Northwestern (4-2). Softball completeS up-and- down weekend Avenging a loss from a day earlier, Purdue defeated Towson 11-7 on Sun- day, finishing a five-game weekend that saw Purdue win three times at the Kickin' Chicken Classic in South Carolina. The Boilermakers (4-4-1) opened the weekend with a split against host Coast- al Carolina and also defeated Virginia 13-3 to go with the split vs. Towson. Ashley Burkhardt continued her hot hitting start to the 2014 campaign, rais- ing her average .467 on the young sea- son with eight hits in four games. Three of those hits were home runs. Andie Varsho also put together a big weekend for the Boilers and is now hit- ting .429 through nine games, joining Burkhardt as Purdue's two players above .400. Purdue continues its early-season travels this weekend with a visit to Au- burn, Ala., at the Wilson/Demarini Classic that features a strong five-team field. The Boilermakers will open compe- tition against Samford (7-1) before fac- ing Jacksonville State (7-3) and Missis- sippi Valley State (1-7). Purdue closes the weekend with a matchup with the host Tigers (8-1-1) on Sunday. Golf openS StronG in match play The men's golf team opened the 2014 season with a strong showing at the Big Ten Match Play Championship in Bradenton, Fla. The Boilers opened with one-sided victories over Minnesota and Northwestern, winning four of the five individual matches against the Golden Gophers and Wildcats. Purdue closed the competition with a tie against Michigan, each team winning twice and tying the fifth match. Purdue travels to Puerto Rico this weekend for the three-day Puerto Rico Classic, which opens play on Sunday. The women are currently in Rio Grande, continuing competition in the Lady Puerto Rico Classic with second- round play Monday. j olympic SportS player-of-the-week: aShley burkhardt Through two weeks, junior Ashley Burkhardt has been Purdue's most productive offensive player, hitting for both averge and power as the Boilermakers. Entering the 2014 season, senior Andie Varsho was the Boiler garnering most of the attention, showing up on numerous preseason watch lists. And though Varsho has lived up to that billing, it has been Burkhardt who has been stealing headlines. After hitting .400 in the first weekend of the season, Burkhardt continued her hot start, going 8-for-15 at the Kickin' Chicken Classic last weekend, driving in 12 runs and scoring eight times. Burkhardt had three doubles and three home runs on the weekend, adding to her team-leading totals. Burkhardt now leads the Boilers in nearly every offensive statistical category, pacing Purdue in batting average, runs, hits, doubles, home runs, runs batted in and slugging percentage. At this early juncture, those numbers are also among the Big Ten's best. Bur- khardt leads the conference in doubles, home runs and total bases while ranking among the top five in runs, hits, batting average and RBI. — Brandan Alford