April 15, 2000
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - David Ferris entered today's game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Indiana Hoosiers with a perfect 6-0 record. Four innings later, Ferris would leave the game with a 6-1 record, and an 8-0 deficit. The Boiler's struggling offense came alive as Purdue went on a seven run two-out rally in the second inning. The Hoosiers couldn't overcome Purdue's eight run lead and when the game had concluded, Purdue had split the twin bill and moved to 2-1 in the series.
"We told the guys between games to cut the frustration loose," Purdue head coach Doug Schreiber said. "Sometimes our guys have trouble cutting loose. We did a better job of staying loose and bouncing back in the second game. This was a big win for us."
The Boilers' offensive struggles from Game One seemed to continue into the first inning, as the Hoosiers' No. 3 pitcher turned Purdue away in the first inning. After Purdue-starter Jeremy Ballard did the same, Purdue came out on a tear. Ferris managed to get the first two Boilermakers to ground out before walking Kris Luce. The walk proved to be costly as it extended the inning for Purdue. Brad Kriner followed with a single, which was followed by a walk to Mike Duursma. With the bases juiced, Purdue's lead off hitter, Chris Walker stepped to the plate. With one swing of the bat, the senior from Joliet, Ill., had a three-run triple that put Purdue ahead to stay. The Boiler would tack on four more runs in the inning, which was culminated by Nate Sickler's three-run shot to left field. The home run was Sickler's ninth of the season, and his second at Lambert Field. With the score at 7-0, Ballard had the opportunity to work the plate, and that he did. The senior mowed down the Hoosier order, which had scored nine runs just a game before. Ballard went six innings for Purdue, not giving up a single run. The closing line on the Boilermaker right hander was six innings, no runs and two strikeouts. Carlos Gomez came in in the seventh to close things out, and complete the Boilermaker shutout.
"Ballard gave us a shot in the arm," Schreiber said. "For him to come out and do what he did was huge. He pitched 3.2 innings on Wednesday and he just did a great job today."
Leading the Old Gold and Black at the plate was David Blomberg and Brad Kriner who both tallied two hits apiece. Kriner went 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Blomberg went 2-for-4, crossing the plate twice. Chris Walker and Nate Sickler both had a hit each, but managed to knock in a total of seven runs between them. Sickler's only hit was a three run home run, while Walker's triple was his only hit of the day.