March 14, 2006
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Purdue Nine made it two in a row in the Show-Me State, defeating Missouri State 7-5 on Tuesday afternoon at Hammons Field. The victory followed a Boilermaker win in the finale of a three-game series vs. Missouri on Sunday.
Purdue is now 5-4 on the young season, 3-1 during its eight-game Spring Break trip. Missouri State slips to 6-6.
With the score tied 5-5 in the ninth inning, a two-out walk to Mitch Hilligoss started a rally that saw Spencer Ingaldson draw a free pass and Eric Wolfe drive in Hilligoss with the go-ahead run on a single to right field. John Hunter was hit by a pitch from reliever Chris Mackey, and a walk to pinch-hitter Jordan Comadena forced home Purdue's seventh run of the game.
Chris Toneguzzi pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless relief to earn his second win of the season. Toneguzzi (2-0) entered the game in the sixth inning and limited the Bears to two hits while striking out six batters.
Missouri State scored in the first inning against Boilermaker hurler Allan Donato, getting on the scoreboard with a single run. Back-to-back singles by Adam Pummill and Matt Lawson gave MSU runners on the corners. Donato coaxed Tony Lewis to ground into a 643 double play, but Pummill scored on the play.
The Boilermakers jumped on Bear pitcher Chris Krawczyk, who pitched into the ninth inning, for five runs in the second inning. White doubled to left field, his first collegiate extra-base hit, and scored when Neal Gorka doubled. A single by Eric Osborn moved Gorka to third, and scored on an error by the MSU shortstop. A walk to Alex Jaffee gave Purdue two baserunners, and Osborn scored on a single to left by Dane Wolfe to make the score 3-1. A groundout moved Jaffee and Wolfe into scoring position, and the pair scored on a single to right field by Ingaldson.
Trailing 5-1, Missouri State scored three times in the fifth inning to draw to within one run. Tanner Mattson hit a one-out double to center and scored on a single by Jacob Hilgendorf. Lawson singled Hilgendorf to second, and a deep single by Lewis plated both baserunners, making the score 5-4.
MSU tied the game in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Hilgendorf that drove home Tim Rafferty. Toneguzzi entered the game in relief of Donato in the inning, yielding the hit to Hilgendorf.
After Purdue took the lead in the ninth inning, Toneguzzi closed the door on the Bears. A double and a walk in the bottom of the ninth gave threated the Boilermaker lead, but Toneguzzi struckout the final two batters to secure the victory.
Krawczyk (1-1) took the loss, pitching 8.2 innings and allowing seven runs on nine hits while fanning nine.
Missouri State outhit the Boilermakers 11-9 in the contest. Eight of the nine position players for Purdue picked up at least one base hit, and Gorka had two with a 2-5 performance.
The Old Gold and Black stranded eight runners on base, while MSU left on seven.
Purdue and Missouri State return to the grandeur of Hammons Field on Wednesday, March 15, for a 3:00 PM (Central) contest. Fans can follow the action online via Live Stats provided by Missouri State.