Kelley Galigher is thriving off of do-or-die situations.

Last week the Penn State designated hitter was batting with two outs and the score tied against Virginia in the title game of the Hoo's Who tournament. That day she hit the full-count pitch off of the left field wall for a game-winning double.

Saturday, Galigher faced the same two-out, full count situation. This time she hit the ball over the left-field fence at Nittany Lion Field for a grand-slam home run that was the turning point against Purdue.

Building on that momentum, Penn State was able to defeat the Boilermakers, 6-5, to win its first Big Ten game of the season. The teams split the series, with Purdue winning 5-1 Friday night.

Penn State (17-12, 1-1 Big Ten) struggled early on against Purdue starting pitcher Diana LaRiva on Saturday. The Nittany Lions did not get a runner on base until centerfielder Gina Bianchini drew a walk in the fourth inning and remained hitless until catcher Erica Greenberg's single in the fifth.

Purdue did not have those troubles. The Boilermakers (22-13, 1-1) started the scoring in the bottom of the second inning with a run-scoring single by right fielder Angela Knight. The next inning, things started to look really grim for Penn State.

Purdue second baseman Andrea Hillsey led off the inning with a home run to right field. Another ball left the field one batter later, when first baseman Heidi Foster hit a home run to left field.

That was the end of the day for Penn State starting pitcher Tina Skelly. In her two official innings of work Skelly gave up three earned runs on four hits. She walked three and had one strikeout.

"We needed someone to come in and keep it close so we still had a chance," Penn State softball coach Robin Petrini said.

That someone was Marisa Hanson. She shut the door on Purdue for the next three innings while Penn State got the bats rolling.

Following Greenberg's single in the fifth inning, first baseman Erin Norton walked. Two batters later Kate Gentile, pinch-hitting for second baseman Barbie Pierce, drew a walk to load the bases. With two outs, shortstop Mandy Nuxoll hit a single to left, cutting Purdue's lead to 3-1. It also chased LaRiva from the game and brought in Leighanne Burke.

The first batter Burke would face was Galigher. After a long battle, Galigher got the changeup that ended up over the fence.

"I didn't care where it went," Galigher said, "as long as I got a hit and we scored."

Another single by Nuxoll in the top of the seventh made the lead 6-3. The Lions would need that run, as they got a scare from a Purdue two-run rally before holding on for the win.

Hanson (9-6) got the win in relief while Burke (14-7) took the loss. Despite the hitting troubles, Penn State had a good balance in all aspects of the game to ensure the win.

"Kelley had that great hit, our defense came through," Hanson said. "We had everything and that's what you need to win."

Friday night Penn State had nothing working in its Big Ten opener and fell to Purdue 5-1. Galigher once again provided the offense, driving in the only run with a single in the sixth inning.

With six left-handed hitters in the lineup, the Lions had a hard time hitting against the left-handed Burke, Petrini said. Burke surrendered just three hits in picking up the win. Hanson started and got the loss for Penn State.

Defense, which had been one of the strongest points for Penn State a week ago, was the biggest problem for the Lions.

"When you make five errors, you're not going to win," Petrini said. "I don't care how much you hit, you aren't going to win."