April 2, 2006
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Purdue Nine took full advantage of wild Illinois pitching on Sunday afternoon at Illinois Field, posting a 9-4 win over the Fighting Illini and securing a series split in the opening weekend of Big Ten Conference action.
The Boilermakers used only eight hits to score nine runs, taking full advantage of seven walks, a hit batter and three wild pitches issued by the Illini pitching staff.
Purdue scored twice in the first inning and twice in the third to take an early 4-0 lead, and did so on only one hit in each inning.
In the first, Illinois starter Scott Shaw hit Mitch Hilligoss with the second pitch of the day, and then saw Hilligoss move to second on a sacrifice bunt by Spencer Ingaldson, a bunt that was mishandled by catcher Lars Davis and ended with the Boilermaker safe at first. A sacrifice moved both baserunners into scoring position for John Hunter, who received a four-pitch free pass to load the bases. Another four-pitch walk, this time to Ryne White, forced in the first run of the game. Neal Gorka singled to right to score Ingaldson and make the score 2-0.
Eric Wolfe led off the third with a walk, moved to second on a ground out, and then to third on a single by White. A safety squeeze put down by Gorka scored Wolfe, and a pair of wild pitches by Shaw allowed White to come around with Purdue's fourth run.
Illinois cut the lead in half in the fourth with two runs against Boilermaker pitcher Ricky Heines, but would get no closer for the remainder of the game.
The teams exchanged a run in the seventh inning to make the score 5-3 in favor of Purdue, and then the Boilermakers sealed the deal with a four-run eighth.
Jeff Mojzik walked to open the inning, the third free pass issued to the Purdue catcher on the day, and moved to second on a bunt by Jordan Comadena. A ground ball to shortstop moved Mojzik to third with two outs, and Hilligoss sent a single through the right side of the infield for the first run of the inning. Ingaldson singled to right, moving Hilligoss to third, and then had an uncontested swipe of second base. On a 3-1 pitch from reliever Tanner Roark, Wolfe connected for his third home run of the season, an opposite-field blast that struck high off the scoreboard in left.
Wolfe's home run extended his career-long hitting streak to 14 games, a period in which the senior has posted a .527 batting average (29-55), driven in 20 runs and hit three homers. Wolfe won back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Week awards during the streak.
Heines picked up the win, moving his season record to 2-0. The junior transfer from Midland College pitched 5.2 innings in his first Big Ten start, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out five. Trae Dauby and Chris Toneguzzi closed out the game, pitching the final 3.1 innings.
Purdue will take on Indiana State in Terre Haute in a midweek non-conference game, a 6:30 p.m. start, before returning to Lambert Field next weekend for a Big Ten series vs. Michigan State. The Spartans are tied for first in the conference at 3-1 after winning a weekend series vs. Indiana in East Lansing.