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GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 27 • 22 BY BRANDAN ALFORD BrandanAlford@Gmail.com After 21 seasons as a coach in Purdue's wrestling program, Scott Hinkel announced his resignation last week. "Purdue University has been my home for most of my adult life, but there comes a time when you feel it is in everyone's best interest to move away from home," Hinkel said in a release. "I appreciate the support I have re- ceived from everyone at the uni- versity and our fans. It is difficult to walk away from my wrestlers and fellow alumni, but I know they will persevere and do what they can to keep this program on the right track." Hinkel, who just complet- ed his seventh season as head coach, posted a 74-57-2 record (.564 winning percentage). High- lights in- cluded a 23rd-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Championships and a sixth-place finish at the 2010 Big Ten Championships. He is the only head coach in Purdue history to post a winning dual record in each of his first three seasons. H i n k e l coached three All- Americans: Jake Patacsil (2009), Cashé Quiroga (2010) and Ivan L o p o u c h a n s k i (2013). Before being selected as head coach in 2007, Hinkel served as a Purdue assistant coach for 14 sea- sons. As a student-athlete at Purdue, Hinkel earned All-Amer- ica honors in 1987 at 126 pounds and received Academic All-Big Ten accolades, becoming the first of only two wrestlers in school history to accomplish both in the same season. He ranks first in school history in career falls (45) and second in career wins (127). As the search begins for Hinkel's replacement, he will serve in an administrative capac- ity with the athletics department through June 30. Assistant coaches Pete Rog- ers and Chris Fleeger will contin- ue in their current roles pending the hire of a new head coach. Softball winS fourth Straight SerieS Timely offense and consis- tent pitching from its ace helped Purdue win two out of three games at Ohio State last week- end and win a fourth consecutive Big Ten series. Paris Andrew gave Purdue (22-20 overall, 9-3 Big Ten) all the offense it needed in Game 1 with a solo home run in the Boiler- makers' 1-0 victory. T h e B u c k e y e s (20-20, 6-6) won Game 2, 8-0, be- fore Purdue b o u n c e d back with a 5-4 victory in the fi- nale. Tori Chiodo paced the Boil- ers in the series-clinching victory, going 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and home run, scoring twice and driving in two runs. Lilly Fecho put together a pair of strong outings in the cir- cle for Purdue, tallying a pair of complete-game victories. Fecho went the distance in Game 1, al- lowing only four hits over seven innings while striking out nine in the shutout. In Game 3, Fecho allowed four runs with seven strikeouts in the win. For the weekend, Fecho didn't allow a single walk and had more strike- outs (16) than hits allowed (13). After struggling through the non-conference schedule with a below-.500 record, Purdue is now in the thick of the Big Ten con- ference race, currently sitting in hinkel reSignS after 21 yearS at Purdue olymPic SPortS Player-of-the-week: lilly fecho Sophomore Lilly Fecho's second season in the Big Ten has gotten off to a strong start, going 4-2 in her first six starts. That hot start continued through last weekend as the southpaw earned a pair of victories against Ohio State. Fecho had a pair of complete-game efforts against the Buckeyes, allowing only four runs in 14 innings while strik- ing out 16 with no walks. Against conference opponents, Fecho has a 2.62 ERA in 50 2/3 innings of work while strik- ing out 42. Fecho's ERA for the season has been even better at 2.52, as she carries at 16-10 record on the year. — Brandan Alford Tori Chiodo Scott Hinkel