April 5, 2002
Box Score
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue extended its Big Ten winning streak to four games and ran its overall winning streak to five with a 6-2 victory at Illinois. The Boilermakers have won nine of their last ten games and improve to 4-1 in conference play.
Purdue opened the scoring in the second inning when Andy Rempel scored David Harrell on a RBI groundout.
Illinois answered with two runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead. Joe Parenti singled home Patrick Arlis who had reached base earlier in the inning with a double. Parenti was later thrown out attempting to steal second on a delayed steal but the play enabled Drew Davidson to score on the play, giving the Fighting Illini a 2-1 lead.
The Boilermakers knotted the score in the top of the third when Adam Fazio scored on Nick McIntyre's RBI single.
Purdue tallied two runs in the fifth inning on consecutive RBI singles. McIntyre drove in his second run of the game, scoring Mitch Koester and Harrell brought home Fazio for a 4-2 Boilermaker advantage.
The Boilermakers added two runs in the eighth when Mitch Koester doubled home John Gusich and Brad Kriner, extending the lead to 6-2.
Chadd Blasko cruised for the final seven innings, allowing just one hit to complete his second-straight start. The junior struck out ten Illini in the contest.
The loss was the first of the season for Illini starter Andy Dickinson and ended his personal 10-game home winning streak that dated back to 1999.
The Boilermakers, 11-13 and 4-1, and Fighting Illini resume their series with a pair of seven-inning contests on Saturday in a 4:05 p.m. (CT) doubleheader at Illinois Field. Fans can listen to Illinois' radio broadcast of the game via the Internet. A link to the broadcast is available at www.purduesports.com or by logging on to www.fightingillini.com. The four-game series concludes on Sunday with a single game beginning at 1:05 p.m. (CT).
Additional Game Notes
-Purdue has won four-straight games in Champaign and eight of its last nine against Illinois.
-Daniel Underwood started in right field, appearing in his first game since an eye injury in the March 20 game vs. Indiana State that forced him to miss seven games.
-Adam Fazio has hit safely in ten straight games dating to March 17 at Coastal Carolina. He has seven hits in his last two games.
-Chadd Blasko has allowed just five earned runs and three walks in his last 25 innings, striking out 31 over that span.
Purdue 011 020 020 - 6 13 0Illinois 020 000 000 - 2 4 0
W: Blasko (3-3), L: Dickinson (5-1)