April 29, 2000
STILLWATER, Okla. - After four hours and nineteen minutes of 11 innings of baseball, the Purdue Boilermakers dropped a 15-14 battle to the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Purdue was the recipient of several questionable calls in the ball game, which may have had a part in the Old Gold and Black's second-consecutive extra-inning loss. The Boilers pounded out 24 hits to the Cowboys' 20 and there were a total of seven errors in the game with the Boilermakers collecting three of them. With Game Two of the double header going into extra innings and the two teams mired in a tie game in Game Three, the bullpens were depleted enough for a total of 14 pitchers to go to the hill. OSU sent nine pitchers into the game, the longest outing of which was by starter Rob Watson who went 3.2 innings and gave up five runs and two hits.
"If you look at the whole weekend, we were put in a tough environment and we competed and fought hard all weekend," Purdue coach Doug Schreiber said. "Our kids know in our hearts that we fought hard and played through adversity. These things will undoubtedly help us through the remainder of the season."
The Boilers threw five pitchers in the 11-run game, starting things off with No. 2 starter David Gassner. Despite going 5.1 innings and giving up 10 hits and five earned runs, Gassner had a no decision with the lead changing several times. Gassner fought hard throughout the game, getting through five innings without surrendering an earned run. However, the Pokes scored two unearned runs on the Boilermaker southpaw. Gassner worked into the sixth giving up only four runs to the potent OSU offense. Gassner was followed by Ben Kaebisch who made his third appearance in as many games. Kaebisch worked 1.2, giving up two runs on only one hit. The string of pitchers continued, as Kaebisch was relieved by Chadd Blasko. With Blasko having trouble with the zone, he was pulled after only 0.1, walking two. Blasko was followed by Purdue-closer Andy Helmer, who had just worked 4.2 in the 12-inning affair the evening before. Helmer got into the game and worked 0.2, but gave up four runs on four hits, and the game was knotted at 13. With a depleted bullpen, pitching coach Gary Adcock went to No. 4 starter Russ Morgan, pitching on only three days rest following a complete game win over Xavier. Morgan kept the Boilers in the game as it entered extra-innings, giving up two runs on five hits through 2.1. The second run proved to be the most costly, as Ryan Budde crossed the plate for the winning run. Morgan picked up the loss despite battling through his 13th inning this week.
"Gassner pitcher well, but ran into a little trouble in the sixth," Schreiber said. "Every pitcher gave us everything they had today. Helmer came in after throwing four-plus innings yesterday and Morgan threw on three-day's rest. Those guys gave everything they had and that means a lot to me and the team."
The Boilermakers' offense was solid, as Purdue continued to battle back to take the lead. Purdue was shut down through the first two, but started the scoring in the third. Kris Luce led off with a shot to left field to tie the game at one. The Boilers followed with a run in the fourth inning, as Nate Sickler punched a one-out double. Sickler came around to score on Daniel Underwood's single. With the score at 2-1, Purdue went on to score 12 more runs over the span of seven innings. Purdue took the lead several times in the game over the Cowboys, who went to last year's College World Series. The Boilers most commanding lead came in the eighth inning when Kris Luce led off with a single. He was replaced by Brad Kriner as Kriner hit into a fielder's choice. Mike Duursma followed with a base hit, one of his four in the game. With runners on first and third, Chris Walker headed to the plate. Walker started the weekend with a lead off home run in Game One of the three game set for only his third home run of his career. Walker matched his career mark in two games, as he smacked a shot over the left field wall for a three run home run. Purdue added another run in the inning, but surrendered four in the bottom of the inning to tie things up again. The lead went back and forth through extra innings, until Ryan Budde led off with a single in the 11th. Budde was moved to second by a close call bunt single by the pitcher, and then stole third, which marked two consecutive questionable calls late in the ball game. Jimbo McAuliff ended the game with a one out single to score the winning run.
"I am very proud of the team, the way we fought and competed," Schreiber said. "Even though we didn't come away with a win, we have to understand that we will be a better team because of it."
Purdue dropped to 30-16 on the season and OSU jumped to 30-18. The Boilers suffered their first sweep this season, despite taking the Cowboys to extra innings twice.
Purdue will have the week off due to finals, and will pick things up again on Saturday, with a home series against Northwestern. The Boilers have four games scheduled with the Wildcats before travelling to Minnesota for the final conference series of the season. The Boilermakers are currently in third-place in the conference with the top-six teams in the Big Ten making the conference playoffs.