April 26, 2002
Box Score
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue defeated Ohio State 7-5 in game one of a key series in Columbus. The Boilermakers scored twice in the top of ninth to key the win.
Ohio State jumped on the board in the bottom of the first, taking an early 1-0 lead off Boilermaker starter Chadd Blasko. Christian Snavely led off the game with a triple off the right-center field wall and scored on a Brett Garrard RBI groundout in the next at-bat. Doug Deeds followed with a double down the right-field line before Blasko retired the next two hitters to thwart the Buckeye attack.
Purdue led off the second inning with four consecutive hits off Ohio starter Nate Smith. Kris Luce singled to open the frame and was followed by a John Gusich double off the center field wall. Luce scored on Andy Rempel's infield single, knotting the score at one before Brad Kriner singled home Gusich for a 2-1 lead. Adam Fazio singled home Kriner and later scored on Nick McIntyre's RBI single as the Boilermakers totaled four runs on six hits in the inning for a 4-1 advantage.
The Buckeyes loaded the bases to open the second inning on consecutive singles by the first three batters in the frame. Blasko forced Mike Rabin into a 1-2-3 double play and Snavely into in a groundout to stymie the threat without allowing a run.
Ohio State cut the margin to 4-2 in the third inning when Doug Dendinger singled to score Garrard and took second on a throwing error by Daniel Underwood. Later in the frame, the Buckeyes evened the score at four behind RBI singles from Joe Wilkins, scoring Nick Swisher, and Drew Anderson, scoring Dendinger.
Blasko retired 12 straight Buckeyes starting with the third out of the third inning through the second out of the seventh, sitting down the side during the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
Swisher gave Ohio State the lead in the bottom of the seventh, plating Deeds on a RBI single, to make it a 5-4 contest.
Andy Rempel reached first to lead off the eighth when his bunt was mishandled by Snavely. He advanced to second on a passed ball by Wilkins and to third on Mitch Koester's infield single. Fazio knotted the game at five, scoring Rempel on a RBI single to right field to chase Smith. Buckeye reliever Brandon Steen ended the Purdue threat by closing the inning on a 4-6-3 double play.
Brian Karpel entered the game in the eighth inning for the Boilermakers, tossing 0.2 innings with one walk, giving way to Brent Coudron. Coudron walked Snavely to open the inning before Nick McIntyre made a tremendous diving catch on Garrard's looping pop-up to short right field, ending the inning and preserving the 5-5 tie.
McIntyre began the ninth with a single and advanced to second on David Harrell's sacrifice bunt. After Luce was intentionally walked, Gusich gave Purdue a 6-5 lead when his RBI single to right field scored McIntyre. Gusich scored on a wild pitch, extending the margin to 7-5.
The Buckeyes mounted a threat in the bottom of the ninth when Swisher posted a one-out double before Coudron retired the final two OSU hitters to pick up his third win of the season.
Fazio belted out three hits with two RBI while Gusich, Kriner and McIntyre each collected two hits each.
Blasko finished the game with 7.0 innings pitched, allowing ten hits and five earned runs while fanning six and walking four.
The Boilermakers, 20-19 overall and 10-7 in the Big Ten, continue their series with Ohio State on Saturday when the teams play two seven-inning games. Fans can access live in-game box scores and game audio of the doubleheader beginning at 4:05 p.m. (EDT) by logging onto Ohio State's website, www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Additional Game Notes
-Purdue's victory was its first against Ohio State under head coach Doug Schreiber.
-The Boilermakers' four-run outburst in the second inning tied for the team's third highest single-inning total this season and best since their seven-run ninth inning at Eastern Illinois on April 17. It was the fifth four-run inning for Purdue this season. The Boilermakers have tallied seven runs in a single inning twice this season and twice have scored five runs in a frame.
-Purdue's 13 hits are its most in ten games, since posting 13 vs. Valparaiso on April 10.
-Brad Kriner extended his hitting streak to ten games, dating to game two of the April 13 doubleheader vs. Northwestern.
Purdue 040 000 012 - 7 13 1OSU 103 000 100 - 5 10 3
W: Coudron (3-2); L: Steen (0-1).