May 14, 2006
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Ricky Heines pitched his first complete game as a Boilermaker, giving the Purdue Nine a 4-2 win over Iowa at Duane Banks Field on Sunday afternoon. The win salvaged a series split with the Hawkeyes and kept the Boilermakers in the hunt for a Big Ten Tournament berth.
Purdue is now 13-15 in Big Ten play and in sole possession of sixth place in the conference standings. The top six teams in the final standings advance to the Big Ten Tournament.
Heines (5-2) allowed four hits in the game, and limited the Hawkeyes to just two base runners over the final four innings.
Purdue scored first in the game, putting two runs on the scoreboard in the second inning. Alex Jaffee's single up the middle drove home John Hunter and Jeff Mojzik, giving the Boilermakers a 2-0 lead.
Iowa answered with two runs in the third inning on a walk, two singles, an RBI fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly.
The Boilermakers regained the lead in the fourth inning with a single run. Eric Osborn was hit by a pitch and moved to third when Jaffee's sacrifice bunt attempt was misplayed, the throw to first going down the right field line to put runners on second and third. Jordan Comadena, batting leadoff, singled to left to drive in Osborn.
In the ninth inning, Purdue added an insurance run against Hawkeye closer Tim Gudex when Ryne White drilled a pitch over the wall in right for a solo home run, his sixth homer of the season.
Heines' complete game was the third consecutive complete game thrown by the Purdue pitching staff.
Comadena was 2-4 on the day in his first appearance as the Purdue leadoff hitter, and White was 2-4 batting clean-up. White is now hitting .381 in Big Ten play, the top average on the Purdue squad.
Purdue takes on Western Michigan in a pair of midweek games in Kalamazoo. The first game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, and the second will be a 1 p.m. contest on Wednesday.
The Boilermakers close out the Big Ten regular season next weekend at home vs. Northwestern.