May 11, 2003
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Purdue head coach Doug Schreiber told the baseball team that talking was over and it was now time to just play ball. Play ball is just what the Boilermakers did in the first game of a four-game Big Ten series against in-state rival Indiana, rolling past the Hoosiers 10-3 at Sembower Field in Bloomington.
With the win, the Old Gold and Black improved to 24-23 overall and 9-15 in Big Ten action, while the Hoosiers dropped to 29-18 and 12-13 in the conference.
The ten-run output by Purdue was the best offensive showing since scoring 18 runs against Iowa on April 20, a span of 11 games. The Boilermakers also out-hit Indiana 13-5, marking the first double-digit hit performance since collecting 10 hits on April 27 against Ohio State.
The Boilermakers struck first in the opening at-bat of the contest as Tyler Johnstone led off the game with a single to left-center and moved around the bases to score the game's first run. After the base hit, Johnstone stole second, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Andy Rempel and was plated by a sacrifce fly to left by Daniel Underwood.
Indiana grabbed the lead in the second with runs scored by Vasili Spanos and Nick Evans. Spanos singled and scored when Evans' hit to right was misplayed by Underwood, allowing Evans to reach third. A sacrifice fly to center Ryan Donley scored the second Hoosier run.
Underwood atoned for his second inning miscue by tying the game in the third with a home run to right field that was aided over the wall by the 30+ MPH winds at Sembower Field. The ninth homer of the season for Underwood was the team's first longball since April 18 at Iowa, when Underwood blasted three in one game. The senior from Bedford, Ind., has hit the last five Purdue blasts this season.
The wind returned the favor for the Hoosiers in the bottom of the third as Seth Bynum lofted a flyball into center field that ended up sailing over the wall 400+ feet away from homeplate.
The Boilermakers jumped back on top in the sixth. Nick McIntyre led off the inning with a single through the right side of the infield and advanced to third on a single by Brad Kriner. A fielder's choice by Eric Wolfe that retired Kriner at second pushed home McIntyre with the tying run. Mitch Koester singled through the left side and Tyler Johnstone picked up his second hit of the game with a two-run triple passed a diving Brad DeStefano in center, forcing IU starter Jacob Cary from the hill with Purdue leading 5-3. New hurler Chris Hynes promptly walked Rempel on four pitches and Underwood bunted for an RBI single. John Manuel, hitting for Simon Klink, walked on four pitches to lead the bases before McIntytre singled for the second time in the inning, driving in Rempel and Underwood. A double down the by Kriner scored Manuel and McIntyre to wrap up the Boilermakers' eight-run inning, giving Purdue a 10-3 lead.
As the Purdue bats were coming to life, so was the right arm of starting pitcher Mitch Pruemer (5-4). In the fifth and sixth inning, the junior fanned five consecutive batters and seven of the final eleven outs of the game. For the game, Pruemer yielded five hits without allowing a walk.
Nick McIntyre, batting in the sixth spot of the lineup rather than his usual second hole, went 3-4 with two runs and two RBI, while Daniel Underwood was 2-3 with two runs and three driven in. Tyler Johnstone and Brad Kriner joined the two-hit club, as Johnstone went 2-4 with two runs and two RBI and Kriner was 2-2 with two runs batted in.
Purdue and Indiana will play a second game on Sunday, beginning at approximately 3:30 p.m.