April 13, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - A four-run first inning by Northwestern was enough to prevent the Purdue Boilermakers from claiming the Big Ten baseball series in Evanston, Ill., as the Wildcats won 6-2.
With the loss, Purdue dropped to 17-14 and 6-6 in Big Ten play. Northwestern evened its record at 12-12 and 5-5.
Northwestern broke through first in the opening inning on an RBI single by David Gresky, the third consecutive single by the Wildcats. The NU clean-up hitter's basehit up the middle scored Mark Ori from second. After a walk to Dan Pohlman loaded the bases, Purdue starter Jasonn Driscoll threw a wild pitch that scored Jon Mikrut and Ken Padgett followed with a two-run single. Jay Buente relieved Driscoll on the mound and retired the final two batters to end the inning.
Purdue scored a run in the fifth on an RBI groundout by Nick McIntyre that scored Tyler Johnstone from third. Johnstone reached base on a single up the middle, moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third thanks to a passed ball.
The Boilermakers threatened to draw to within two in the sixth on a double down the third base line by John Hunter, but Brad Kriner was thrown out at the plate on a perfect relay from Wildcat shortstop Jon Mikrut.
Northwestern extended its lead to five with two runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning. Josh Leiberman's two-run single to right-center scored Pohlman and Ken Padgett.
Purdue battled back for a run in the seventh after Mitch Koester walked to lead off the inning and Johnstone doubled down the left field line. One out later, Daniel Underwood's ground balll to third scored Koester with the Boilermakers' second run of the game. However, the Boilermakers could not scratch through again, falling to the Wildcats by four.
Dan Brauer (3-0) picked up the win for Northwestern, pitching 7.0 innings while yielding one earned run on nine hits. Jason Driscoll (2-2) was hit with the loss for Purdue. Driscoll surrendered four runs in one-third of an inning.
Purdue returns to the friendly confines of Lambert Field for two midweek games. The Boilermakers will host Valparaiso on Tuesday at 3 p.m. before facing Cincinnati at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Purdue travels to Iowa City to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in Big Ten action next weekend.