April 24, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The rain dampened Lambert Field on Saturday, but nothing could damper the Boilermaker spirits as Purdue swept a double header from the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday afternoon, 5-0 and 6-3.
Purdhe is now 19-17 overall and 9-6 in the Big Ten. Michigan State is 19-18 and 7-8 in conference play.
Freshman hurler Dan Sattler (West Lafayette, Ind.) kept the MSU batters at bay for five shutout innings, yielding four hits and four walks while striking out four. Senior Jason Driscoll (Mishawaka, Ind.) tossed the final two innings for his second save of the season.
Game One scoring opened in the second inning when the Boilermakers plated three runs on three hits. Senior Mitch Koester (Effingham, Ill.) doubled to shallow left-center with the bases full, pushing home sophomore Eric Wolfe (Toronto, Ontario) and senior Simon Klink (Auburn, Ind.), and moving junior Andy Dahl (Fair Oaks, Calif.) to third. Junior Mike Coles (Hammond, Ind.) followed with an infield single that brought home Dahl.
Purdue added two insurance runs in the sixth inning on a safety squeeze by senior Ben Fritz (Minnetonka, Minn.) and a RBI single by sophomore John Hunter (West Lafayette, Ind.). Fritz' bunt drove in Coles from third, who was followed home by freshman Mitch Hilligoss (Windsor, Ill.) on Hunter's base hit.
Hunter and Wolfe each picked up two hits in the early game, Hunter extending his hitting streak to 11 games. That streak ties Coles for the second-longest run of the season, one game behind the mark of Hilligoss.
Purdue wasted little time in the nightcap, scoring one in the first, four in the second, and one in the third, giving senior pitcher Brian Karpel (Lakewood, Ohio) all the support he would need for his third win of the season.
The Boilermaker first began with a double to deep left off the bat of Coles, who moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Hilligoss. Klink lifted a fly ball into left field to bring home Coles and give Purdue a 1-0 lead.
Wolfe led off the second inning with a single up the middle and scored two pitches later on a triple to right-center by freshman Eric Osborn (Fishers, Ind.). Freshman Spencer Ingaldson (Rapid City, S.D.) singled on the infield to pick up an RBI in the form of Osborn and advanced 90-feet on a sac bunt by Dahl. After Koester walked, a Coles fly ball to right moved Ingaldson over to third base, giving the Boilermakers runners on the corners. A passed ball charged to Erik Morris of MSU allowed Ingaldson to score the third run of the inning and put Koester at second. Hilligoss followed with an RBI single just passed the outstretched glove of MSU shortstop Troy Krider, capping the second inning.
Purdue added to its lead in the third on Koester's RBI single up the middle that scored Ingaldson. The Purdue catcher had drawn a walk with two outs and moved to second on a wild pitch.
Michigan State broke through against Karpel in the fifth with a solo homer to center by Sean Walker, and scored two more in the seventh before sophomore pitcher Trae Dauby (Dale, Ind.) shut the door on the Spartans for his second save of the weekend and fourth of the season.
Purdue picked up seven hits by seven different batters in the Game Two victory as the Boilermakers out-hit the Spartans 7-5.
The Boilermakers have now won five consecutive Big Ten games and six straight overall. During that six-game span, Purdue is batting .354 while the Boilermaker pitchers have held their opponents to a paltry .201 average. The Boilermakers' ERA in the last six outtings is 1.88, compared to the 8.39 ERA of their foes.
Purdue and Michigan State conclude the four-game series on Sunday afternoon at Lambert Field. First pitch for the series finale has been moved to noon from the original 1PM start due to expected storms in the late afternoon.