March 6, 2004
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - After chasing No. 18 Florida's starting pitcher from the game in the third inning, the Purdue baseball team was unable to score for the rest of the game as the Gators defeated the Boilermakers 8-3 on Saturday afternoon at McKethan Stadium. With the loss Purdue dropped to 1-4 on the season while Florida improved to 14-3.
With a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, the Gators looked to extend their lead as Ben Harrison grounded the ball to shortstop Mitch Koester (Sr., Effingham, Ill.) with Adam Davis on third. Koester fired the ball to catcher Ben Fritz (Sr., Minnetonka, Minn.) at the plate as Davis broke for home. Davis collided at full speed with Fritz and was called out on the play and then ejected for what the umpires deemed flagrant contact. Fritz, who was shaken up on the play, left the game after the collision.
Purdue was trailing 2-0 heading into the third inning when the Boilermakers scored all of their runs. Spencer Ingaldson (Fr., Rapid City, S.D.), who replaced Fritz behind the plate, led off with a single in his first collegiate at bat. Third baseman Simon Klink (Sr., Auburn, Ind.) was then hit by a pitch to set the stage for second baseman Eric Osborn (Fr., Fishers, Ind.) who launched a three-run homer to left field, the first round tripper of his career.
Connor Falkenbach took over on the mound later in the third for Florida and went the rest of the way. He retired a stretch of 13 straight Boilermaker hitters in his 6.1 innings of work to earn the win which improved his record to 5-0.