April 14, 2005
NORMAL, Ill. - The Boilermaker Nine could not hold on to a ninth-inning lead, allowing a two-run flare to right that gave the Illinois State Redbirds a 7-6 victory over Purdue.
The loss dropped Purdue to 9-19 on the season, while Illinois State moved to 13-18.
ISU's Ned Schauff picked up the win in relief, moving his record to 3-3. Junior Chris Toneguzzi was hit with the defeat, falling to 0-2.
Toneguzzi entered the game in the eighth inning and retired five straight batters, three by strikeout, before Illinois State began its rally. With two down and no one on base, two singles gave the Redbirds runners on the corners. With a 1-2 count, Fischer lofted a single into right field that Gorka dove for and was unable to come up with. Before a Boilermaker was able to corral the ball, both baserunners circled the bases, the winning run sliding in before the throw home reached the plate.
A four-spot in the bottom of the second put the Redbirds in front to get the game going. A leadoff walk opened an inning that saw four singles and two free passes lead to the ISU 4-0 advantage.
The Boilermakers inched closer, pulling the gap to two runs in the top of the third. ISU centerfielder Kris Jenkins misplayed a shot off the bat of sophomore Mitch Hilligoss and senior Andy Dahl was hit by a pitch for the ninth time this season, giving Purdue runners at first and second with no outs. A sacrifice bunt by junior Eric Wolfe moved the baserunners up 90 feet and junior Neal Gorka singled on the infield to drive home Hilligoss. With runners on the corners, Redbird hurler Kitt Kopach was called for a balk, allowing Dahl to trot home with the second run of the inning.
Purdue pulled the score to 4-3 with an unearned run in the top half of the fifth. Hilligoss led off the frame with a single to left and stole second, his second swipe of the evening. Following a walk to Gorka, sophomore Spencer Ingaldson's grounder to short was thrown wide of second base in an attempt to get the force on Gorka, allowing Hilligoss to score from second.
Unearned runs gave the Boilermakers the lead in the sixth as Purdue scored three times, two crossing the plate thanks to ISU miscues. Sophomore Jeff Mojzik singled to open the inning and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman John Phegley. Junior Mike Marx lofted a single into left-center to score Mojzik, tying the score at 4-4. Freshman Dane Wolfe hit a ground ball to third that was thrown wide of first, pulling the first baseman off the bag and allowing Marx to advance to third. A bunt single by Dahl brought home Marx, and Eric Wolfe's infield single to second plated his brother Dane.
Following the rocky second inning on the mound, starter Dan Sattler settled down to pitch through the fourth without yielding another run. Sophomore Andrew Groves came out of the bullpen to start the fifth inning and pitched 2.1 innings before giving way to junior Trae Dauby in the seventh.
Before leaving the game, Groves allowed seventh-inning singles to Ryan Anetsberger and Kyle O'Brien. With Dauby on the hill, Jenkins singled to left-center to score a run and move the score to 6-5 Purdue. With the bases loaded and two down, Dauby fanned Lee Fischer, who watched strike three, to end the Redbird threat.
The Boilermakers return to Big Ten action on Friday, April 14, at Lambert Field as Purdue plays host to Northwestern for a four-game series. The weekend action begins at 3 p.m.