April 28, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The sixth inning at Bill Davis Stadium spelled doom for the Boilermakers as Purdue fell to Ohio State on Friday evening 10-5. The Buckeyes scored eight runs in the sixth inning to break open a 2-1 contest.
Purdue, now 22-16 overall and 8-9 in the Big Ten, has lost four of its last five conference games.
Ohio State scored in the first inning on three hits off Purdue starting pitcher Brent Coudron (3-5), taking the early 1-0 lead.
In the third inning, the Boilermakers tied the score with a run off a double steal. Eric Nielsen and Mitch Hilligoss started the inning with back to back singles, and Nielsen moved to third on a flyout to right by Eric Wolfe. With John Hunter at the plate, Hilligoss broke towards second on an attempted steal. OSU catcher Eric Fryer threw towards second, and Nielsen broke for the plate on the throw and slid past a tag by Fryer for Purdue's run.
The Buckeyes answered in the home third with an RBI double to left by Fryer, putting OSU back on top by one.
The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the sixth when Ohio State sent 12 batters to the plate against three Purdue hurlers, picked up eight hits and scored eight runs. The eight runs in one inning were the most allowed by the Boilermakers in a single inning this season.
Purdue scratched back with four runs in the seventh on a two-run single by Nielsen and a two-run base hit by Wolfe. However the Boilermakers would not manage to break through again in the game.
Dan DeLucia (7-2) picked up the win for the Buckeyes, and improved to 4-0 vs. the Boilermakers in his career.
Purdue and Ohio State return to Bill Davis Stadium on Saturday for a Big Ten twinbill beginning at 1:35 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on AM 1410 WLAS in Lafayette and on the web at www.purduesports.com, with Chris Macaluso and Mark Leddy calling the action.