May 3, 2003
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Purdue nine was unable to break through No. 25 Minnesota on Saturday, dropping a pair of games to the Big Ten-leading Golden Gophers at Siebert Field in Minneapolis, 6-1 and 2-1. The Boilermakers have now lost seven consecutive games, all in conference play.
With the pair of defeats, Purdue dropped to 23-22 overall and 8-14 in Big Ten action, falling to ninth place in the league standings. Minnesota moved to 30-15 and 18-3, building a four-game lead on second-place Ohio State.
The Old Gold and Black dropped Game One by a 6-1 final as Minnesota scored two runs in the first, second and fifth innings. Purdue broke up the bid for a shutout by the Gophers with a run in the fifth on an RBI single by Daniel Underwood that scored Andy Rempel, who had singled and stole second. Rempel ended the game with two swipes, upping his team- and conference-leading total to 22.
Underwood went 3-3 in the game with three singles, putting the senior at the century mark for total bases with an even 100 this season. Rempel had two hits in the game on four at-bats.
Chris Toneguzzi (4-3) was hit with the loss in Game One, yielding four runs, two earned, in 1.2 innings of work. The freshman right-hander allowed six hits and three walks in limited action after being drilled in the shin by a line drive off the bat of Minnesota's David Roach. Josh Herman and Jay Buente worked 4.1 innings in relief.
Game Two started much the same way as the first two games in the series, as Minnesota scored in the first inning to grab the early lead. One run in the first and one in the third off Purdue starter Scott Byrnes (2-5) gave the Gophers a 2-0 lead before the Boilermakers could crack the scoreboard.
Purdue scored a single run in the fourth, but left three runners on base in the inning. With Ben Fritz on first after a fielder's choice, John Hunter singled with two outs and moved Fritz to third. Brad Kriner followed with a base hit to pick up the RBI. The final eight Boilermaker batters were retired to close the game with the sixth one-run loss of the year.
Byrnes tossed five innings and allowed two runs on six hits. Dustin Glant pitched the final inning for the Boilermakers, letting up one hit.
Kriner went 2-3 at the plate in Game Two, picking up two of the Boilermakers' five hits in the game as Minnesota out-hit Purdue 7-5. In the three games, the Gophers have out-hit the Boilermakers 25-17 overall and 6-1 in extra-base hits.
Purdue and Minnesota conclude the four-game series with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday at Siebert Field.