Feb. 26, 2006
LAFAYETTE, La. - The Boilermaker hopes of starting the 2006 campaign with two wins in Cajun Country were dashed by Kansas State on Sunday as the Wildcats handed Purdue a 9-3 defeat at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
The contest was part of the 2006 Mardi Gras Ball Basebal Classic on the campus of Louisiana-Lafayette.
Kansas State (3-1) scored in seven innings, using an 11-hit attack to hand the Boilermakers their first loss of the season. The Old Gold and Black (1-1) collected 10 hits of their own.
Purdue's effort was spoiled by a direct opposite from Friday's contest, as the Boilermaker pitching was unable to avoid giving K-State free bases. Five walks, three balks and two wild pitches added to the 11 Wildcats hits, providing the Purple and Black scoring opportunities in nearly every inning. The Boilermakers used seven pitchers in the game.
Leadoff base hits for the Wildcats in each of the second, third and fourth innings resulted in runs as Kansas State built a 3-0 lead after four innings against Purdue starter Brent Coudron.
In the fifth inning, Purdue sent Dan Sattler to the hill and the right-hander struck out the first batter he faced. However, back-to-back-to-back walks loaded the bases for K-State, and Barrett Rice singled to deep centerfield to score two additional runs and put Purdue in a five-run hole.
The Boilermakers broke through against Wildcat hurler Adam Cowart in the bottom of the fifth when Neal Gorka doubled down the left field line and scored two batters later on a single to right off the bat of Eric Osborn.
Purdue inched one run closer in the sixth when Spencer Ingaldson turned on a Cowart offering and sent the pitch over the wall in right field for a solo home run, the first Boilermaker roundtripper of the 2006 season. A single by Eric Wolfe and a double to left by Hunter gave Purdue a chance to climb further out of the hole, but KSU escaped the jam with a fielder's choice and strikeout, keeping the score 5-2 after six innings.
The game was put away in the next two innings with big flies as Joe Roundy ripped a two-run homer to right off Morgan Regan in the seven the inning and Byron Wiley drove a Ricky Heines offering into the trees in right-center for a solo blast, the final Wildcat run.
Needing a seven-run rally in the ninth, Purdue did manage to scratch the surface oh the KSU lead with a Dane Wolfe single that plated Gorka, but it was not nearly enough.
Coudron suffered the loss, allowing three runs in 3.2 innings on six hts.
Gorka, Osborn and Dane Wolfe each had two hits in the game for the Boilermakers. It was the second two-hit performance by Wolfe in as many games this season.
Purdue hits the road again next weekend with a three-game set in Chapel Hill as the Boilermakers take on nationally-ranked North Carolina.