March 10, 2001
The Purdue baseball broke out of its offensive slump with a 16-12 victory over Cincinnati, the first of seven games the team will play over the next eight days.
The Boilermakers wasted little time putting runs on the board, as they sent eight batters to the plate and scored five runs in the top of the first. Dave Blomberg led off the game with a base hit, then advanced to second on a fielder's choice. Following a Nick McIntyre walk, Nate Sickler drove in Blomberg with a base hit of his own. McIntyre scored on a John Gusich single. Kris Luce then knocked in his first home run of the season, driving in Sickler and Gusich, giving Purdue what appeared to be a commanding 5-0 lead.
Cincinnati fought back, scoring two runs in their half of the first inning, then six in the third, leading 8-5 after three innings. Ben Quick lasted just two innings, pitched to five batters in the third, and was credited with seven earned runs. Chadd Blasko came on to relieve Quick, and kept the Boilermakers within striking distance. Blasko finished the day pitching six innings, yielding seven hits and just two earned runs, picking up his second win of the year.
The Boilermakers got back two runs in the top of the fifth inning as Blomberg led off with a walk and advanced to second on a Daniel Underwood single. McIntyre doubled, scoring Blomberg and advancing Underwood over to third base. With the bases loaded after Gusich reached base on an error, Luce reached base on an error by the pitcher, scoring Underwood and narrowing the Cincinnati lead to 8-6. The Boilermakers also knocked out starting pitcher Kenny Fields, picking him up for seven hits and six earned runs in 4.1 innings of work.
Purdue picked up another five-run inning in the top of the sixth. Brad Kriner led off the inning with a single, then advanced on a balk by pitcher Curtus Moak, who relieved Fields. Dave Blomberg picked up his second walk of the game, then stole second in a double steal attempt. Kriner was thrown out on the play. Underwood singled to score Blomberg, then stole second. McIntyre drove in Underwood with a base hit, giving Purdue a 9-8 lead. Sickler singled, advancing McIntyre to second, then both runners were driven in by a Gusich home run, his first of the season. Purdue led 12-8 after six and a half innings. Cincinnati got a run back in their half of the sixth inning, making it 12-9.
David Harrell knocked his second home run of the season in the seventh inning, a solo shot, extending Purdue's lead to 13-9. The Boilermakers added three insurance runs in the top of the ninth, leading 16-9 heading into the bottom of the inning. Simon Klink pinch hit for Kriner, and was walked to lead off the inning. Nick Treadway came on as a pinch runner for Klink, and advanced to second on Blomberg base hit. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch then scored on an Underwood single. Underwood stole second again, then scored on a Nate Sickler base hit. Cincinnati added three runs in the bottom of the ninth, but freshman Billy Lester was able to come on and prevent a rally, clinching the victory for the Boilermakers.
Purdue had several offensive stars for the game, but most impressive was the top six of the batting order. Dave Blomberg was a perfect 4-for-4 and also walked twice. Through nine games, Blomberg is tied for the team lead with a .462 on base average. His three stolen bases lead the team this year. Nick McIntyre added two more hits, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored while extending his hitting streak to nine games and is tied with Blomberg for the team lead in on base average. McIntyre also leads the team in hits (13) and runs scored (8). David Harrell, despite not starting the first five games of the season, has started the last four as the designated hitter and leads with a .650 slugging percentage. His two home runs is also a team high. Nate Sickler is third with .333 batting average after going 4-for-6 against the Bearcats. He leads the team with five doubles and is second with four runs scored. Luce is third with ten hits and leads the team with eight RBI. Gusich led the team with four RBI, and was 3-for-6. In just three games this season, Gusich is third on the team with five RBI.