April 15, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue scored six runs in the eighth inning to break open a 4-4 tie en route to a 10-4 win over Valparaiso on Tuesday afternoon at Lambert Field, improving the Boilermakers' record to 18-14 while dropping the Crusaders to 8-18-1.
The Boilermakers were the beneficiaries of pitching inaccuracies and a costly fielding error by Valpo to blow open the game in an inning that saw Purdue have just two hits. Three walks and an error on the Crusader pitcher, coupled with a two-run double off the bat of Andy Rempel sealed the deal for the Boilermakers.
Jason Driscoll, the fourth Purdue pitcher of the contest, pitched the final 2.0 innings without allowing a hit to pick up his third win of the season, improving his record to 3-2. Justin Lata (0-1) was hit with the loss for Valpo, walking the only two batters he faced in the eighth inning, in his first appearance of the year.
The Crusaders struck first with two runs in the third inning off Purdue starter Jesse Krause. A single to center by Brandon Sadler drove home both runs. Sean Pieckert walked with one out and Marc Boggio singled and stole second to bring up Sadler in the RBI situation.
Purdue answered in the home half of the third with three runs on four hits. With two outs and no runners on base, Rempel walked and stole second. Nick McIntyre singled through the middle to score Rempel and cut the Crusader lead in half. Daniel Underwood singled through the right side of the infield and Simon Klink recorded an RBI basehit to tie the score. Tyler Johnston was hit by a pitch, chasing starter Kyle Obenauf from the mound. Reliever Kyle Cumings walked the first batter he saw, John Manuel, to push home McIntyre with the third run for Purdue.
The Boilermakers scored a single run in the fifth on an RBI grounder by Johnstone, scoring Underwood from third base. Underwood drew a walk to lead off the inning and stole both second and third before the Johnstone groundball.
In the Valpo half of the seventh, Boggio tied the score with a long two-run home run over the left field wall off Purdue reliever Josh Herman, the third pitcher of the afternoon for the Boilermakers.
The game was decided in the eighth inning for the Boilermakers. Facing Justin Lata, Johnstone and Mannuel each walked on 3-1 pitches. Adam Knobel was called on in relief for the Crusaders and was greeted by a bunt attempt down the third base line. A late throw by third baseman Sean Pieckert trying to get the lead runner at third loaded the bases for Eric Wolfe, who walked to give Purdue a 5-4 lead. Mitch Koester bounced a grounder to the mound that went off Knobel's glove, allowing all baserunners to be safe and Manuel to score. Rempel went the opposite way on a full-count pitch, lofting a double down the left field line to score Kriner and Wolfe. McIntyre singled up the middle to drive home the final two runs of the game.
Andy Rempel and Nick McIntyre each had three hits to pace the nine-hit attack by Purdue. Rempel added two runs scored and two RBI, while McIntyre scored one and drove in three. Rempel also stole three bases, upping his team-leading total to 16, while Daniel Underwood swiped his second and third of the season.
Purdue returns to Lambert Field on Wednesday at 3 p.m. to take on Cincinnati. The game will be broadcast in the Greater Lafayette area on WLAS 1410AM and via the Internet. Live stats can also be seen on the Internet at www.purduesports.com.