May 21, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue baseball team could not cash in on an early lead on Friday afternoon, falling to the Indiana Hoosiers at Lambert Field, 9-3. The Boilermaker loss, accompanied by a win by Northwestern on Friday, keeps Purdue's magic number at one for a berth in the 2004 Big Ten Tournament.
Purdue righthander Scott Byrnes (Cincinnati, Ohio) equalled his season high with 11 strikeouts, but ran into trouble in the seventh inning. The Boilermaker bullpen could not save the situation as the Old Gold and Black surrendered nine run in the final three innings. From the other dugout, Hoosier hurler Nick Vitielliss (6-3) surrendered three unearned runs in the second inning and then shut the Boilermakers down for the remainder of the game.
The loss drops Purdue to 26-26 on the season and 15-14 in Big Ten play. Indiana is now 25-28 overall and 9-20 in the conference. The Boilermakers can lock up a spot in the Big Ten Tournament with one win against the Hoosiers, or one loss by Northwestern to Michigan State.
The Boilermakers jumped on Indiana early, scoring three runs in the second on three hits and one costly error. John Hunter (West Lafayette, Ind.) was hit by a pitch to start the inning, moved to second on a ground out and went to third when Ben Fritz (Minnetonka, Minn.) hit a grounder to third that was thrown away. With runners on second and third, Andy Dahl (Fair Oaks, Calif.) ripped a two-base hit down the left field line to plate two runs and then came around to score on a double off the bat of Mitch Koester (Effingham, Ill.).
Byrnes continued to keep the Hoosiers at bay, putting zeroes on the scoreboard until the seventh inning. In the seventh, Indiana touched Byrnes for two singles and a hit-by-pitch, chasing the junior from the mound with the bases loaded. Reliever Jason Driscoll (Mishawaka, Ind.) took the mound and could not escape the inning before IU scored three.
The Hooisers struck for two runs in the eighth inning and closed the game with a four spot in the ninth. Allowing three tuns in 1.2 innings, Driscoll was hit with the loss to drop his season record to 3-2.
Purdue and Indiana return to Lambert Field on Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. double header.