Feb. 27, 2004
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
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The rust was evident for the Purdue baseball team as the Boilermakers dropped their season opener to the Belmont Bruins on Friday afternoon, 3-1. The contest was the first time the Old Gold and Black played outdoors since the completion of fall practices.
The loss is the second consecutive season-opener defeat for the Boilermakers. Belmont improves to 8-0 on the young season, its best start since becoming a Division I program in 1997.
Belmont took advantage of a Boilermaker slow start, scoring a run in the first inning on two hits, two Purdue errors and a wild pitch. A strike from left fielder Andy Dahl (Jr., Fair Oaks, Calif.) cut down Belmont base runner Ryan Pettit at the plate to prevent any further damage in the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Bruins extended their lead to 3-0 on a solo home run off the bat of designated hitter Dennis Gomez and a double by Stephen Sundstrom, who then stole third and scored on a balk.
Purdue cut the lead to two with a single run in the visitor half of the sixth inning. Senior catcher Ben Fritz (Minnetonka, Minn.) doubled to the right field corner and scored on a looping single by third baseman Simon Klink (Sr., Auburn, Ind.).
With the score 3-1, sophomore Jay Buente (Evansville, Ind.) replaced starter Scott Byrnes (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio) on the hill and retired all eight batters he faced to give the Boilermakers a chance in the late innings. However, Purdue could not muster additional runs against Bruin hurler Justin Jordon, who tossed his second complete game of the season and improved to 3-0 with just two earned runs allowed in 21.2 innings. Byrnces was hit with the loss and is 0-1.
Purdue returns to the diamond on Saturday, Feb. 28, against Lipscomb in a game that is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. EST.