March 14, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Boilermaker baseball team fell victim to an offensive outburst by 31st-ranked Alabama-Birmingham in the final game of its series with the Blazers, as UAB won by a score of 13-4 at Perry Memorial Field. Purdue beat UAB on Friday and Saturday to take two of three games in the series.
UAB took an early lead in the game with a run in the bottom of the first, but Purdue tied it up in the top of the second. With two outs, right fielder Matt Bush (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.) connected for a double to right-center field. Second baseman Eric Osborn (Fr., Fishers, Ind.) followed with a double of his own down the line in right to score Bush and put the score at 1-1.
Purdue was down 8-1 heading into the sixth inning when the Boilermakers were able to cut into the UAB lead. Center fielder Mike Coles (Jr., Hammond, Ind.) led off the inning with his second single of the afternoon and moved to third when left fielder Mitch Hilligoss (Fr., Windsor, Ill.) followed with a double. A ground ball off the bat of catcher Ben Fritz (Sr., Minnetonka, Minn.) scored Coles and sent Hilligoss to third. Hilligoss would score on a ground ball hit by first baseman Eric Wolfe (So., Toronto, Ontario). Third baseman Simon Klink (Sr., Auburn, Ind.) was then hit by a pitch and moved to second on a pick off throw that got past UAB first baseman Daniel Hill. Klink came around to score on a single by Bush.
The three-run Purdue sixth cut UAB's lead to 8-4, but that was as close as the Boilermakers would come. The Blazers added four more runs in their half of the sixth inning and tacked on a single run in the eighth to increase their lead to 13-4.
Chris Toneguzzi (So., Thunder Bay, Ontario) was the starting pitcher for Purdue and worked 3.2 innings. He was charged with loss, putting his record at 1-2. Jeff Brown got the victory for UAB, moving to 2-1. Left-handed pitcher Jake Glick (Fr., Santa Monica, Calif.) made his collegiate debut for the Boilermakers coming out of the bullpen in the sixth to pitch 2.1 innings allowing one run, one hit, and striking out two.
With the win UAB's record stands at 11-5 while Purdue falls to 3-6. The Boilermakers will continue their eight-game spring break trip on Tuesday when they face the No. 17 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Atlanta, Ga. Purdue will play the Yellow Jackets again on Wednesday before rounding out the trip with a three-game weekend series at Jacksonville State. Both games against Georgia Tech are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at Russ Chandler Stadium.