April 27, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue baseball was unable to come away with a win over the weekend, dropping two games on Sunday to the Ohio State Buckeyes at Lambert Field, 6-3 and 10-6. The Buckeyes swept the Boilermakers in the four-game Big Ten series.
With the sweep, Purdue fell to 23-19 overall and 8-11 in the Big Ten. Ohio State improved to 27-12 on the season and 14-6 in conference action.
Ohio State broke through first in Game One with two runs in the fourth inning on a two-run double by Cody Caughenbaugh, and the Boilermakers answered with a run in the bottom half of the frame.
Three consecutive singles by the Boilermakers, the third an RBI single up the middle by Ben Fritz, scored the Purdue run in the form of Daniel Underwood from second base.
A pitching change to start the sixth by the Boilermakers brought Matt Skripsky from the bullpen, and Skripsky was greeted by a two-run homer to left by Derek Kinnear, his second jack of the series. Three batters later, Jedidiah Stephen connected for a two-run blast over the wall in left-center to push the Buckeyes to a five run lead, 6-1.
Purdue loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh on two Ohio State errors and a single. An RBI groundout by Eric Wolfe and a sacrifice fly by pinch hitter Tyler Johnstone plated two unearned runs, but the Boilermakers could get no closer.
Scott Byrnes was hit with the loss for the Boilermakers, dropping his season record to 2-4. Byrnes tossed 5.0 innings, yielding two runs on six hits while striking out two.
Nate Smith (2-5) was the winning pitcher for the Buckeyes, going 6.0 innings and allowing three runs, one earned, on four hits with five strikeouts. Matt Davis come in to record the final three outs to pick up his seventh save of the year.
The nightcap did not start well for the Boilermakers as Ohio State scored six first-inning runs against starting pitcher Daniel Underwood on five hits. Kinnear played a familiar role in the Buckeye inning, coming up with another big hit as the catcher drove a three-run double to right.
Purdue responded in the bottom of the first with two runs after two were out. Nick McIntyre had walked with one down and went to second when the OSU second baseman through the ball away trying to double-up McIntyre off first on a line-out by Underwood. An RBI double by Simon Klink scored McIntyre and John Hunter follwed with a basehit up the middle to plate Klink.
Ohio State added two runs in the fourth on a two-run home run by Drew Anderson and two more in the sixth on Jedidiah Stephen's second homer of the series to extend its advantage to 10-2.
Hunter led off the Purdue half of the sixth with a single and went to second on a basehit through the left side of the infield by Andy Rempel. Kriner lofted a two-run double to left-center, scoring both runners and chasing OSU starter Chris Hanners from the hill. Reliever Matt Davis walked pinch hitter Neal Gorka and Mitch Koester singled to right to load the bases for Ben Fritz, who singled to right to score Kriner from third. An RBI fielder's choice by McIntyre score the fourth run of the inning for Purdue in the form of Gorka. However, the Boilermakers could muster no more runs against the Buckeye hurler as Davis retired the Boilermakers in order in the seventh to end the game.
Underwood was hit with the loss, his first collegiate decision. The senior pitched 4.0 innings and allowed seven hits and eight runs. Hanners (4-1) picked up the win for the Buckeyes, tossing 5.0 innings and yielding five runs on eight hits.
Daniel Underwood led the Boilermakers at the plate on Sunday, collecting three hits in seven at-bats. John Hunter was 2-4 in the nightcap for the Old Gold and Black, joining Ben Fritz, Brad Kriner and Simon Klink in the two-hit club on Sunday.
Purdue hits the road for a critical Big Ten series in Minneapolis against the conference-leading Minnesota Golden Gophers, beginning with a 6:30 game Friday evening.