April 11, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Late-inning heroics were followed by very late-inning heroics as the Purdue Boilermakers won the Big Ten series finale against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Lambert Field on Sunday afternoon, 6-5 in 16 innings.
Third baseman Simon Klink (Sr., Auburn) provided the first bit of fireworks, drilling a eighth-inning offering from OSU's Trent Luyster over the right field wall for a three-run home run, tying the game at 4-4. The blast was the senior's first of the season and second of his career.
Eight innings later, senior catcher Ben Fritz grounded a ball off the body of OSU second baseman Drew Anderson to drive home junior Mike Coles (CF, Hammond, Ind.) from third base with the winning run. Coles had led off the inning with an infield single and was on third for Fritz following a single by senior shortstop Mitch Koester (Effingham, Ill.) and a sacrifice bunt by junior Andy Dahl (RF, Fair Oaks, Calif.).
The 16-inning marathon capped a weekend that saw the Boilermakers and Buckeyes split a four-game series. Purdue is now 13-14 on the season and 4-4 in the Big Ten. Ohio State is 13-13 and 5-3.
OSU took an early lead off Boilermaker starting pitcher Chris Toneguzzi (So., Thunder Bay, Ontario), scoring two runs in the top of the third. An RBI single by Jacob Howell and a sacrifice fly by Steve Caravati gave the Buckeyes a 2-0 lead.
Dahl put the Boilermakers on the scoreboard in the home half of the third when he connected on an 0-2 offering from Buckeye hurler Scott Lewis for his second home run of the season, a line drive into the net over the left field wall. Lewis was making his first appearance on the mound for OSU since undergoing Tommy John surgery on May 29th of last year.
Ohio State added single runs in the fifth and seventh to grab a 4-1 lead before Klink tied the game in the eighth.
Koester led off the Purdue eighth by coaxing a walk off Jesse Paciorek, who had relieved Lewis in the sixth inning. Dahl singled through the left side of the infield to chase Paciorek from the contest in favor of Luyster, who was making his third appearance in the four-game set. One out later, Luyster served up a 2-1 offering that Klink sent towards the scoreboard and out of the park to knot the score at 4-4.
Purdue and Ohio State matched each other inning for inning over the next seven frames, as each team stranded 14 runners on base during the game.
With stellar performances out of the Boilermaker bullpen from sophomore Trae Daudy (Dale, Ind.) and senior Jason Driscoll (Mishawaka, Ind.), the stage was set for Fritz to drive home the winning run.
Dauby relieved Toneguzzi in the seventh inning and pitched 6.1 innings. The sophomore did not allow a run, yielding just two hits while striking out four. Driscoll (2-1) enterred the game in the 14th inning and pitched the final 3.0 frames with three strikeouts for the win.
Purdue stays at home for a midweek contest this week, taking on Illinois State at Lambert Field at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 14. The Boilermakers resume Big Ten action next weekend on the road, traveling to Evanston, Ill., for a four-game series with Northwestern.