April 5, 2000
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue baseball team won a non-conference matchup with intra-state rival Ball State, as the Boilers' pitching led the way to a 4-3 win. Purdue came into the day's game with a 35-28-2 all-time record against the Cardinals, but lost the last game in Muncie, Ind., last year. In the 1999 contest, Ball State pounded out 27 hits in a 23-7 rout of the Boilermakers. The story this year was much different, as the much improved Boiler pitching staff held the Cardinals to nine hits and only three runs. With the win the Boilers move to 17-9 on the season, and better their home record to 6-1 in the friendly confines of Lambert Field.
"It was a good day for us," Purdue head coach Doug Schreiber said. "We didn't panic and everybody fought hard. Blasko came in and did a great job and Kaebish pitched well in the first four innings, then Andy Helmer came in and did his job. The defense continued to play well also. It was a good win and a good comeback against a pretty good team."
Opening the day on the hill for the Old Gold and Black was southpaw Ben Kaebisch. Kaebisch, a regular in the Boilers bullpen, got the starting nod today from Schreiber with conference games coming up this weekend. Kaebsich pitched well through the first four innings. The opening three batters of the game went in order, and then Kaebisch retired eighth of the next ten hitters with only two singles coming in the second inning. The junior from Colgate, Wis., gave up no runs heading into the fifth, when Aaron Zehnal led off with a single. Zehnal was thrown out by Nick McIntyre trying to reach second, but the BSU scoring threat was far from over. Doug Boone followed with a single, which was followed by a walk to Paul Henry. Scotty French then singled to knock home Boone and the Cardinals were on the board. Jimmy Long followed with a single of his own and knocked in Henry. Jeremy Ridley added another run, hitting a sacrifice fly to center to put the Cardinals ahead 3-0. With four solid innings under his belt, Purdue pitching coach Gary Adcock headed to the hill to put the ball in the very capable right hand of Chadd Blasko. The freshman from Mishawaka, Ind., was virtually untouchable. Blasko walked the first batter he faced to add another runner, and with a pass ball getting past Nick McIntyre, Blasko was facing Shane Ridley with runners on second and third. Blasko got Ridley to ground out to end the three-run fifth inning. Following that point, Blasko was automatic. He opened up the sixth inning giving up a single to Matt Wood, before striking out the next three batters in order. Blasko went on to strike out six of the next seven batters over the next two innings. The young righty worked through the eighth, giving up no runs on three hits, striking out six and walking two for his first win of the season. The closing line on Kaebisch was 4.2 innings pitched, giving up six hits, three runs and striking out three.
With the pitching keeping the Boilers in the ballgame, it was up to the Purdue offense to produce some important runs. BSU starter Adam Sheefel made it into the fifth inning without surrendering a run, before Kris Luce opened up the inning by reaching on a fielding error by the Cardinals' shortstop. Luce was moved into scoring position by Mike Duursma's single, and the stage was set for the return of Chris Walker. Walker had not seen the plate since an injury to his thumb in the opening game of the Alabama series. He singled to left field to knock in Luce and begin the Boiler comeback. The rally would be cut short in the fifth inning, but it would continue in the seventh. Mike Duursma led off the inning with a triple beyond the diving glove of left fielder Aaron Zehnal. Walker again stepped ton the plate, and again came through with a run scoring single. David Blomberg followed with a bunt, and an errant throw by the Cards' second baseman allowed Walker to score the tying run. With the game knotted at three, Nate Sickler led off the eighth inning with a single. Daniel Underwood moved the runner up with a sacrifice bunt and then Kris Luce struck out for the second out. With that, Daryl Hallada stepped to the plate. One hit away from tying the Purdue record for all-time hits, Hallada has been zero for his last 11 at bats, including 0-for-3 coming into his eighth inning at-bat. With one swing, the senior from Janesville, Wis., tied the record for hits, and knocked in the games winning run. A hard fly ball tailed away from the center fielder, and Hallada ended up with a double and an important RBI. With a one run lead, the Boilers handed the ball off to the Big Ten's save leader, Andy Helmer. Helmer finished off the Cardinals for his conference-best eighth save, going one inning without allowing a runner to reach base.
"Daryl's hit was a big hit for us as a team," Schreiber said. "It was an extra-base hit, and that is really what Hallada is all about. It was great that he could tie that record, and hit a game winning RBI. Hopefully that will get him back on track to hitting on all cylinders the rest of the season."
The Boilers will return to conference play as the head to Iowa for a four game set with the Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa. Purdue currently owns a 5-3 conference record and is tied with Penn State for third place in the Big Ten standings.