May 18, 2005
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Every starter got at least one base hit, and eight picked up multiple hits, as the Purdue Nine posted season highs in runs and hits in their 16-4 win over Cleveland State at Forest Hill Park.
The 16-run outburst eclipsed the previous high of 15 against Indiana Tech on April 27. Purdue mashed Viking pitching for 20 hits, storming past the former best of 17 against Florida Atlantic (Feb. 27) and Notre Dame (April 20).
With the victory, Purdue heads into the final weekend of the regular season with a 22-27 record.
Senior Matt Bush was nearly perfect at the plate on Wednesday, picking up four hits in five at-bats, including the first home run of his collegiate career. Bush scored twice and drove in two runs.
Also homering for the Boilermakers was Mitch Hilligoss, his third of the year. Hilligoss, who leads Purdue with a .401 average, was 2-for-4 with two runs and five RBI.
Cleveland State scored twice in the bottom of the second to grab a 2-0 lead, an advantage that would be very short lived.
Purdue answered in the visitor's third inning with three runs on the Hilligoss blast over the right-centerfield wall. Dane Wolfe opened the inning with a double down the left field line and moved to third when John Phegley singled up the middle. On a 2-1 offering from starting pitcher Nathan Schaefer (1-4), Hilligoss lofted a no-doubter over the fence to give the Boilermakers a lead they would not relinquish.
The Boilermakers made the game a blowout in the fourth inning with six runs on five hits. Purdue picked up two runs on a Wolfe single to left, two more on a Hilligoss double down the right field line and capped the inning with a two-run double to right-center by John Hunter.
CSU received a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth from Jeff Katlen to make the score 9-4 in favor of Purdue, but that would be as close as the Vikings would get for the remainder of the game.
A successful squeeze bunt by Wolfe in the fifth gave the Boilermakers another run, and RBI singles in the sixth by Mike Marx and Bush moved the score to 12-4. In the seventh inning, Andy Dahl tripled to centerfield to plate Jordan Comadena with the 13th run of the game for Purdue.
With the game firmly in control, the Boilermakers struck for three more runs in the eighth frame. Bush led off the inning with his home run, a drive to right field off pitcher Jason Bartnicki. Dahl picked up his second RBI of the afternoon with a single to right-center, and Tyler Heck finished the scoring with a sacrifce fly to right.
Jay Buente (2-2) picked up the win with five innings of work. Buente yielded four runs on five hits while striking out four. Skyler Young pitched three innings of scoreless relief, and Tristan McIntyre hurled the final frame.
Seven Boilermakers drove in at least one run in the game, while nine crossed the plate with a run scored.
Purdue travels to Indiana this weekend for the final regular-season series of the year, facing the Hoosiers in a four-game Big Ten set. The series will begin at 3 p.m. on Friday, and all four games can be heard on AM 1410 WLAS and via the web at www.purduesports.com, with Kyle Charters and Mark Leddy calling the action from Sembower Field.