April 21, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue Boilermakers kept their winning ways on the diamond, cutting down the Indiana State Sycamores at Lambert Field on Wednesday afternoon, 11-0. It was the fourth shutout for the Boilermakers this season, eclipsing the 2003 season total by one. Purdue is now 16-17 on the season.
The Purdue Nine jumped on Indiana State early and often, leaving no doubt about the final outcome of the game. Three runs in each of the first, third and fifth innings helped the Boiermakers cruise behind a four-pitcher performance that limited the Sycamores to just three hits.
Senior Simon Klink (Auburn, Ind.) tripled in the first to score junior Mike Coles (Hammond, Ind.), and Klink was plated on a ground ball off the bat of sophomore John Hunter (West Lafayette, Ind.). Three batters later, freshman Spencer Ingaldson (Rapid City, S.D.) doubled to score sophomore Eric Wolfe (Toronto, Ontario) with Purdue's third run.
Senior Mitch Koester (Effingham, Ill.) led off the bottom of the second inning with a towering home run to left field, his team-leading fifth blast of the season.
In the third inning, freshman Eric Osborn (Fishers, Ind.) tripled to right-center to drive home Wolfe and give Purdue a 5-0 lead. An RBI single by Ingaldson plated Osborn, and Ingaldson scored later in the frame on a sacrifice fly by Coles.
Three more runs in the fifth gave the Boilermakers a 10-0 advantage. Koester's double through a drawn-in infield scored junior Andy Dahl (Fair Oaks, Calif.), and a base hit by freshman Mitch Hilligoss (Windsor, Ill. ) scored Koester. A misplayed ground ball later in the inning allowed freshman Rob Brockel (Pewaukee, Wis.), pinch-running for Hilligoss, to score from second base.
The Boilermakers capped their offensive effort in the sixth when freshman Joe Hartman (Batesville, Ind.) collected an infield single towards third base that drove in Ingaldson, who had doubled for the second time in the game.
Purdue pitching dominated the Indiana State batters, as sophomore Jay Buente (Evansville, Ind.) picked up his first win of the season after pitching 5.0 innings and yielding three hits with two strikeouts. Freshman Andrew Groves (North Liberty, Ind.), senior Jason Driscoll (Mishawaka, Ind.) and Hunter combined on the final four innings without allowing a base hit.
Ingaldson led the offense, collecting three hits with two doubles, two runs scored and two RBI. Koester was 2-for-2 at the plate with two runs and two driven in, while Dahl and Osborn also chipped in with two hits each.
Purdue takes to Lambert Field this weekend for a four-game series against Big Ten foe Michigan State. Purdue is 6-6 in the Big Ten, while the Spartans are 7-5 entering the series. First pitch on the series opener is scheduled for 3PM on Friday.