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88 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 5 f "Coming in as a freshman, I was just like, 'I just want to play,' and I didn't really have much expected of me coming in as a small-town girl (from an) unincorporated city in Wisconsin," she said. "Just came in, did my job. Looking back on it, I'm just sur- prised I did so well. Honestly." She may have been the only one. Varsho has started since arriving on Purdue's campus as a freshman. Her first hit came on a slap up the mid- dle from the No. 9 spot in the lineup. She was moved quickly to the second spot in the order as a sophomore in part to take advantage of her superior bun- ting ability. She was moved to leadoff and then to the third spot where she was able to drive in more runs as a junior. She's back at leadoff as a senior. And she's excelled at every spot be- cause of her versatility, the ability to bunt, slap or swing away. "She's smart enough to make adjust- ments knowing that when I stink — we all stink at times — I've got to figure out a different way to get on," Gary Varsho said. Andie Varsho has had too many resources in her life to develop into anything other than an effective hitter: Baseball, a bat- ting cage, Dad and DeFeo. Growing up playing against boys fueled Varsho's competitiveness, she said, On the rise Andie Varsho's list of individual accomplishments is lengthy over her Purdue career, but more than anything, she wishes there would have been more seasons with Big Ten contention and ending in postseason appearances. At least Varsho is getting one final chance to make that push. Under first-year coach Kim Schuette, the Boilermakers have improved. After a hot start against lesser-caliber opponents to begin Big Ten com- petition, Purdue started its final run in the conference in late-April when the league's best program came to West Lafayette. And for only the third time the program's history, the Boilermakers beat powerhouse Michigan. Purdue was only 2-42 against the Wolverines and hadn't beaten them since 2006 entering that April 23 doubleheader but hung on to win 3-2 in Game 1. Varsho capped the victory by recording the final out, catching a foul pop up in right field, prompting a mini-celebration with a quick hop and a first pump. The whole team had reason to celebrate. "It was awesome," Schuette said. "I'm a competitor, so my biggest rival is whoever is in the dugout, but I know our kids absolutely have been dreaming about playing them since the beginning of the year. Whatever can put us on the map and whatever can give us a little bit more national recognition and Big Ten recognition, that's what we're playing for. We're playing for postseason, and this should do a lot for us. "This should boost our confidence. This should boost the community morale for softball here. This should boost a lot of things. I was just happy that we came out here and we at- tacked and just played some ball instead of being afraid." Purdue already had beaten No. 10 Texas earlier in the season, but the win over fourth-ranked Michigan tied for highest-ranking victory in program history. Sophomore left-hander Lilly Fecho battled for W against Michi- gan. She was on the mound for 19 of the team's first 25 victories and will continue to be the player the Boilermakers ride into, they hope, the postseason. "(With Michigan) you can't get too excited about 'this is who they are' because obviously we're comparable. We can play well against them," Fecho said. "We can't let their ranking or the past define it. It was really exciting to come out here and get that done. "(The program) definitely is looking up and it's going in the right direction. It's been very exciting." — Stacy Clardie Purdue Varsho's versatility at the plate, an ability to bunt for hits, slap for them or swing away for average and power, has helped her become Purdue's all-time hits leader.