April 20, 2001
Illinois took the first game of a four-game series by defeating Purdue 11-4 on Friday night. Andy Dickinson (8-1) gets the win for Illinois, while Ben Quick (4-4) lost his first decision in his last four.
The Illini offense was sparked by a three-run first inning and a four-run eighth inning.
Purdue went scoreless in its half of the first. Illinois fired back with three runs as its first three runners got on base. Andy Schutzenhofer singled in the first run. T.F. Meagher then scored on a wild pitch. Despite allowing three runs, the Boilermakers made two great defensive plays to end the inning. John Gusich converted a 5-4-2 double play to get the first two outs of the inning and keep the Illini runners out of scoring position. Daniel Underwood then made a nice throw on a base hit that dropped just fair in right field, throwing over to first base after the baserunner had second thoughts about advancing to second.
The Boilermakers didn't pick up any hits in their half of the second, but fared much better defensively. Ben Quick struck out his first two batters of the game and forced a ground out to third.
Mike Duursma added the first Boilermaker hit in the third inning, ripping a base hit to center field. Illinois added two more runs in the third to take a 5-0 lead.
Blomberg extended his hitting streak to 14 by leading off the fourth inning with a double to left field. With two outs in the fourth, Mitch Koester, a native of nearby Effingham,Ill., starting in his third game as the designated hitter, walked. Duursma notched his second hit of the game to put on two runners for Underwood, who hit a fly ball to deep centerfield that was caught for the final out.
Blomberg made a heads up play to end the fifth inning, catching a pop up in right field hit byVince DiMaria, then rifling out Patrick Arlis at first converting the second Boilermaker double play on the day.
Blomberg then led off the sixth inning with his team-leading 21st walk of the season. McIntyre matched that with a walk of his own. Harrell flied out to right, then Sickler reached on a fielder's choice, leaving McIntyre out at second, but still putting runners on the corners. Kris Luce walked to load the bases for John Gusich who grounded out to second to end the inning.
Starter Quick exited the game after 5.2 innings, as Illinois added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth innings. Adam Green came on to pitch 1.1 innings scoreless and striking out two batters, continuing his roll as of late where he has pitched his last six innings without giving up a run while striking out eight.
The Boilermakers fought back in the seventh inning, scoring four runs. They started their surge by loading the bases with no outs. Blomberg led off an inning for the third time of the game, leading off the seventh inning and picking up a base hit. McIntyre and Harrell followed with walks. Dickinson was replaced by Jeff Gertz after the bases were loaded. Sickler was walked, which scored Blomberg for Purdue's first run of the game. Luce then drilled a single to left field, scoring McIntyre and Harrell, narrowing Illinois' lead to 7-3. Gusich grounded in to a double play. Simon Klink was inserted into the lineup for Koester. Sickler scored on a wild pitch making it 7-4. Klink reached base on a fielding error by the first baseman. Duursma was walked to put two men on with two outs before Underwood grounded out. The Boilermakers finished the seventh inning with four runs on two hits.
Howard came on in the seventh inning, striking out one batter. He pitched two-thirds of the inning before being relieved by Ben Kaebisch, who faced two batters before giving way to Billy Lester, who closed off the inning. Howard allowed one base runner, who reached base on a throwing error by Mike Duursma. Kaebisch hit a batter, then allowed a hit which drove in one run. With the bases loaded, Lester gave up a double, clearing the bases as Illinois took a convincing 11-4 lead. All four runs were unearned, marking the 12th game of the season that the Purdue bullpen has not allowed an earned run.
Purdue continues its series at Illinois with a Saturday doubleheader. Chadd Blasko (4-3, 4.62) will start game one while Dave Gassner (3-4, 7.27) will start game two. Game One is scheduled to start at 4:05 central time and will be broadcast on the internet at www.fightingillini.com.
NOTES - Blomberg finished the game getting on base in four-of-five attempts, increasing his on base percentage to .435 and his batting average to a career-high .341, 50 points over his career average ... Blomberg also extended his hitting streak to 14 games, tying Nate Sickler for longest hitting streak of the season ... Luce picked up his seventh multi-RBI game of the year, third on the team behind Sickler and Harrell ... Duursma had his fourth multi-hit game of the season.