April 12, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The wind was blowing out to left field on Wednesday afternoon at Lambert Field, and two lefties took full advantage of the conditions to give Purdue a 9-8 win over Illinois State.
Mitch Hilligoss hit his third home run of the season in the eighth inning, a two-run blast that made the score 8-7 Purdue. One inning later with the score knotted at 8-8, Ryne White drove an opposite-field blast out of the park for a game-winning homer, his second longball of the season.
Hilligoss was perfect at the plate on Wednesday, going 4-4 with two doubles, a home run, four runs scored and three RBI. White's tater was his first hit of the game, going 1-2 with two RBI and two walks.
Purdue (18-9) scored early in the contest to build a 5-0 lead, but the Redbirds rallied for four runs in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth to take a 7-5 lead. Purdue scored a run in the sixth to make it 7-6, setting up Hilligoss' shot.
ISU tied the game with a run in the ninth against closer Chris Toneguzzi, the first earned run allowed by the Boilermaker stopper this season in 19 1/3 innings. The tie game gave White the chance to be the hero, an opportunity he did not miss.
Toneguzzi was credited with the win in the ballgame, moving his record to 4-0. The loss went to Redbird reliever Dan Frega, who yielded White's shot in the ninth.
For the Boilermakers, Spencer Ingaldson and Eric Wolfe each had two-hit days, and Wolfe drove in the first three Purdue runs of the game.
Purdue travels in state this weekend, taking on rival Indiana in a four-game Big Ten series at Sembower Field in Bloomington. Purdue is currently 5-3 in conference play, while the Hoosiers are 2-6.