April 30, 2004
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - For the first time during the 2004 season, the Purdue Nine was unable to cross the plate as the Boilermakers were blanked by the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Siebert Field on Friday evening, 7-0. Minnesota out-hit the Boilermakers by a 10-4 margin.
Purdue falls to 20-19 overall and 9-8 in the Big Ten Conference. Minnesota remains tied for first in the league with Michigan at 11-6. The Golden Gophers are 24-15 overall.
The games marked the first shutout suffered by Purdue since falling to Minnesota 10-0 on May 4, 2003, last season's series finale. Purdue has now lost the last nine contests with the Golden Gophers. The last Boilermaker win over Minnesota March 24, 2001, a 4-2 final in West Lafayette.
Minnesota scored a single run in the third inning off Purdue starter Scott Byrnes (Cincinnati, Ohio) on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to left by Mike Mee that plated Sean Kommerstad from third base. The Golden Gopher bats blew up in the fifth inning as the team slammed three home runs in a four-run inning. Homers by Sam Stiedl, Matt Fornasiere, and Jake Elder put the game away.
The Gophers added two insurance runs in the sixth and rode the pitching performance of Glen Perkins (5-2) to the win. Perkins struck out seven in the complete game and improved his career Big Ten reocrd to 12-0.
Purdue threatened once in the game as senior Mitch Koester (Effingham, Ill.) singled in the third and moved to third on a double by junior Mike Coles (Hammond, Ind.). However, Perkins was able to retire the next two Boilermaker batters to get out of the inning unscathed.
The Boilermakers and Golden Gophers return to Siebert Field on Saturday for a 2 p.m. double header.