March 15, 2006
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Purdue Boilermakers made it three wins in a row on Wednesday afternoon with a 10-3 defeat of Missouri State at Hammons Field. However, it was not just the win that made this game special for the Boilermakers, now 6-4 on the season.
In the ninth inning with Purdue leading 7-3, "it" happened.
The "it" for Purdue baseball players and fans since 2003 is the first home run of Eric Wolfe's collegiate career, a career that has spanned 166 games and 525 at-bats leading up to that fateful swing. Wolfe came to the plate with Mitch Hilligoss on second base and Alex Jaffee on first and two down. With Bear reliever Jacob Bunten on the hill, Wolfe drove a an offering from the MSU right-hander over the wall for the three-run blast.
Wolfe was 2-5 at the plate in the game with a run and three RBI.
Missouri State took the initial lead with two runs in the first inning against Boilermaker starter Brent Coudron. An RBI triple by Shane Elenz and a sacrifice fly by Matt Weglarz staked MSU to a 2-0 lead.
The Boilermakers wasted little time tying the score by plating two runs in the top of the second. John Hunter led off the inning with a free pass to first and scored on a triple off the bat of Ryne White. Neal Gorka followed with a sacrifice fly out to right, scoring White and knotting the score at 2-2.
Missouri State regained the lead in the home half of the second on another triple, this one by Jake Hilgendorf. The MSU three-bagger scored Chris Taylor, who walked with two outs.
Once again, the Boilermakers did not waste any time to tie the score at 3-3, as Hunter's sacrifice fly to centerfield drove home Hilligoss from third base. Hilligoss reached on a base on balls and advanced to third on Eric Wolfe's double to left.
In the fifth inning, Purdue grabbed its first lead when Hilligoss singled into left, plating Jeff Mojzik, who had led off the inning with his first double of the year.
Mojzik had two hits in four at-bats in the contest.
Purdue pushed across two more runs in the visitor's half of the seventh to make the score 6-3. Eric Osborn led off the frame with a single and moved to second when Dane Wolfe's fielder's choice failed to retire Osborn. Hilligoss singled to left to drive home Osborn, and he and Wolfe moved up 90 feet more when MSU left fielder Adam Pummill threw the ball away. Bunten relieved Chris Mackey, the second MSU pitcher, and faced pinch hitter Spencer Ingaldson. Ingaldson greeted Bunten with a squeeze bunt that pushed home Wolfe with the second run of the inning.
Leading off the ninth inning, Osborn connected for a longball over the fence in left, his second home run of the season. That blast set the stage for the Eric Wolfe roundtripper and drove the Boilermakers to victory.
Coudron picked up the win, his first of the season, pitching 7.0 innings. Coudron (1-2) allowed three runs on four hits while striking out two. Trae Dauby and Ricky Heines hurled the final two innings for Purdue, each yielding one hit.
Mackey, who relieved MSU starter Jake Shafer in the fourth inning, was hit with the loss.
Purdue travels to St. Louis for a three-game series that will conclude the Boilermakers' Spring Break trip through the Show-Me State. The Boilermakers meet the St. Louis Billikens in game one of the series on Friday, March 17, at 2 p.m. (Central).