April 14, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Shaky pitching by Purdue and hot bats for Illinois State combined to produce a 14-6 Redbird victory over the Boilermaker Nine at Lambert Field on Wednesday afternoon. The loss dropped Purdue to 13-15 on the season.
Illinois State jumped on the Boilermakers early and often, scoring three runs in the first, fourth and sixth innings. The Redbird bats never cooled off, collecting 16 hits against six Purdue pitchers.
The Boilermakers answered early, staying within striking distance through the first three innings. However, the three-run fourth by the Redbirds dropped the Boilermakers into a four-run hole, a hole from which they could not escape.
Senior Mitch Koester (Effingham, Ill.) and sophomore John Hunter (West Lafayette, Ind.) were the bright spots for the Boilermakers. Koester collected two of Purdue's eight hits on the afternoon, and Hunter was 1-3 with three RBI.
Trailing 3-0 in the first, senior Simon Klink (Auburn, Ind.) lofted a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score junior Mike Coles (Hammond, Ind.) from third. Coles had walked to lead off the inning and moved to third on a stolen base and wild pitch.
After ISU added a run in the second to make the score 4-1, the Boilermakers put up a two spot in the bottom of the second. Koester singled through the left side of the infield to drive hom freshman Eric Osborn (Fishers, Ind.) from third, and Coles pushed home freshman Spencer Ingaldson (Rapid City, S.D.) with a fielder's choice.
Another Redbird run in the third put the Boilermakers down two, but a run in the bottom of the inning would once again close the gap. With one out and junior Andy Dahl (Fair Oaks, Calif.) standing on third after his leadoff double, Hunter drove a ball to center for a sacrifice fly.
A three-run inning in the fourth put the Redbirds up 8-4, but Purdue kept clawing with two runs in the fifth. Hunter was again the run producer, singling up the middle to drive home Coles and Klink with the Boilermakers' fifth and sixth runs. However, the Old Gold and Black would not be able to get any closer as ISU added three in the sixth, two in the eighth and one in the ninth to secure the win.
Boilermaker starter Jay Buente (So., Evansville, Ind.) was hit with the loss, his second of the season. Buente allowed four earned runs in 3.0 innings of work. For the game, six Purdue pitchers issued seven bases on balls.
Purdue takes to the road this weekend, visiting Evanston, Ill., for a four-game Big Ten series with the Northwestern Wildcats. The series begins with a 3 p.m. game on Friday.