April 2, 2003
MUNCIE, Ind. - The score had the look of a spring football scrimmage, but the participants played the game on a baseball diamond as the Purdue Boilermakers fell to the Ball State Cardinals by a final score of 17-14 at the Ball Diamond in Muncie. In the game, the two teams combined for 40 hits, including 11 doubles and seven home runs, aided by a 25mph wind blowing out to center field.
The loss dropped Purdue's record to 11-11, while Ball State improved to 15-7.
The Boilermakers jumped on the board right away, scoring two runs in the first inning on back-to-back roundtrippers by Nick McIntyre, his fourth of the year, and Daniel Underwood, his third. The duo teamed up for the second time this season, hitting back-to-back shots against Miami (Ohio) on March 23, Purdue's home opener. McIntyre and Underwood each drove shots to the deepest part of the park, clearing the fence just to the left field side of the flagpole in straightaway center field.
Purdue extended its lead in the top of the second inning with a single run. Matt Bush drilled a one-out double to the gap in right-center adn advanced to third on a groundout by Ben Fritz. Mitch Koester drove home Bush with a basehit up the middle off the glove of Cardinal pitcher Joe Ness, giving the Old Gold and Black a 3-0 lead.
The 3-0 Purdue advantage was short-lived, as the longball came back to bite Purdue in the bottom of the second frame. Kyle Dygert drew a walk with one out and Lucas Fry followed with a home run to left-center. The back-to-back theme held for the Cardinals as Jason Bucholtz sent a shot over the left field fence to tie the game, 3-3.
The Boilermakers would not waste any time regainging the lead, scoring four runs in the visitor's half of the third inning. McIntyre gave Purdue a 4-3 lead with his second home run of the afternoon, a laser to right field, to lead off the inning. With two out in the inning, John Manuel and Bush drew walks and Ben Fritz singled to center to score Manuel from second. Koester lofted a ball into center field that fell between three fielders, scoring Bush and Fritz and giving Purdue a 7-3 lead.
Ball State used two doubles and a triple to score three runs in the bottom of the third to draw to within one run after one-third of the game, 7-6. Doubles by Brad Snyder and Kiel Holman, a triple off the bat of Brad Miller and an RBI groundout to shortstop by Dygert accounted for the Cardinal runs.
After a scoreless fourth by Purdue, the Cardinals put a five-spot on the scoreboard to grab an 11-7 advantage. The inning was highlighted by three Ball State doubles, including Snyder's third of the afternoon.
In the top of the fifth, Fritz was hit by a pitch from BSU reliever Jeff Michael and Koester singled through the left side of the infield. An error on the play by left fielder Schroeder allowed both runners to move up a base. Andy Rempel's groundout to short pushed home Fritz with the Boilermakers' eighth run of the day. A walk to Tyler Johnstone and a single through the right side by McIntyre loaded the bases and set the stage for Underwood, who launched his second home run of the afternoon to dead center field, Purdue's first grand slam of the year.
Ball State came right back in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four runs on six hits. A two-run double by Adam Metzler followed by a two-run home run by pinch hitter Marc Franz pushed Ball State into the lead, 15-12.
The Cardinals tacked on two more runs in the seventh on a two-out, two-RBI single by pinch hitter James Nowicki. Nowicki's basehit scored Franz, who reached on a wild pitch after striking out, and Miller, the recipient of a base on balls.
Purdue pushed across one run in the top of the eighth inning to close the deficit to four runs, 17-13. Koester coaxed a one-out walk from Cardinal hurler Brian Lynch and moved up 90-feet on a wild pitch. Andy Rempel singled into center field, allowing Koester to score from second for the Boilermakers.
McIntyre led off the ninth inning with a bunt single and advanced to second on a throwing error by Cardinal catcher Matt Singleton. Underwood doubled into right-center to drive home McIntyre and move the score to 17-14. The Boilermakers proceeded to load the bases with one out, but a 1-2-3 double play ended the game.
Daniel Underwood paced the Purdue offense with five hits, batting 5-6 with two home runs and six RBI. Nick McIntyre and Mitch Koester each collected four hits, as McIntyre went 4-6 with two solo home runs and four runs scored and Koester was 4-4 with two runs scored and three driven in. John Manuel collected two hits and scored a run.
Michael Hale (1-0) earned the win for the Cardinals, pitching 1.2 innings of shutout ball and allowing two hits. Brent Coudron (3-1) was hit with the loss, yielding four runs on six hits in one inning of work. John Pettibone recorded the final three outs of the game for his fourth save of the year for Ball State. In the game, Purdue sent eight hurlers to the mound while Ball State used seven pitchers.
Purdue returns to Lambert Field for a four-game series with Big Ten foe Illinois. The weekend will begin with a 3 p.m. game on Friday and will feature a 1 p.m. twinbill on Saturday. The two teams will conclude the series with a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday.