March 9, 2002
Box Score
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After a rain delay lasting one hour and 20 minutes, Purdue fell 9-6 at No. 2 Clemson in Saturday's contest at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson.
Purdue jumped on the board in their first at-bat when Daniel Underwood scored on Michael Henrie's wild pitch. Underwood had reached base by opening the game with a walk.
Clemson knotted the score in the bottom of the first stanza when third baseman Jeff Baker doubled home leadoff man David Slevin.
The Tigers took a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning on a pair of RBI singles by Jarrod Schmidt and Roberto Valiente.
Clemson jumped ahead with a six-run fifth inning. Tiger slugger Michael Johnson hit a towering grand slam to straight-away center field that cleared the 40-foot tall batter's eye beyond the 400 ft. sign. Schmidt followed with a solo shot to chase Boilermaker starter Dustin Glant.
Purdue added a run in the top of seventh on a bases loaded walk in rainy conditions. The game was stopped with the bases loaded and a full count on Mitch Koester. After 80 minutes of delay the game resumed and Koester delivered a RBI ground out to cut the lead to 9-3. Underwood singled to right, scoring John Gusich and Michael Correll to bring the Boilermakers within 9-5 while extending his hitting streak to 21 games.
An Underwood sacrifice fly in the ninth, scored Brad Kriner and brought Purdue within three runs at 9-6 before Clemson closer Paul Harrelson retired the final outs.
The Boilermakers, 2-7, resume play on Sunday with a 1 p.m. (ET) contest in the finale of the three-game set. Right-hander Mitch Pruemer (1-0, 3.27) will take the mound for Purdue and will be opposed by the Tigers' Steven Jackson. Fans can listen to the game live via the Internet courtesy of Clemson's WCCP-FM radio at www.wccpfm.com.
Additional Game Notes
-Daniel Underwood extended his hitting streak to 21 games (dating to 4/29/01 at Indiana).
-Michael Correll played in his first game of the 2002 season.
-Jason Helbling made his debut as a Boilermaker.
-Mitch Koester recorded his first extra-base hit of 2002, a ninth-inning double. It was the second extra-base hit of his career, the other was a home run on 3/27/01 vs. Valparaiso.
Purdue 000 000 401 - 6 5 0
Clemson 100 260 00x - 9 11 1
W: Henrie (2-0), L: Glant (0-1)
HR: Johnson (7), Schmidt (2)