March 3, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - For the second consecutive afternoon, the Purdue Nine scored double-digit runs in a win over Western Kentucky, defeating the Hilltoppers 12-5 behind a 15-hit attack at Nick Denes Field.
The win lifts the Boilermakers to 3-2 on the young season, while Western Kentucky dropped to 5-3. With the victory, Purdue has clinched the win in the weekend three-game series, giving the Boilermakers their first pre-Spring Break series win since taking two of three against Texas-San Antonio on Feb. 22-24, 2002.
Ricky Heines went six innings with one earned run allowed and seven strikeouts to pick up his second win. The seven strikeouts were a career high for the senior right-hander.
Jordan Comadena, Ryne White and Andy Preston paced the Purdue offense with three-hit performances, and Kyle Reesing extended his season-starting hit streak to five games.
Purdue opened the scoring immediately with three runs in the first inning on a RBI double by White, a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch to Preston and a bases-full walk by John Cummins. Preston made it 4-0 in the third with a solo home run to right, his second home run of the series.
A two-run fourth inning made the score 6-0 in favor of the Boilermakers. White drove in one run with a sacrific fly, and Preston followed with an RBI single.
WKU got on the scoreboard in the home half of the fourth with two runs, one unearned, but would not get any closer.
Freshman Dan Black doubled off the centerfield wall with the bases loaded to pick up his first collegiate hit and RBI, scoring Comadena from third and Ingaldson from second. A wild pitch allowed White to trot home with the inning's third run a and 9-2 lead.
An RBI groundball by Comadena in the seventh plated Reesing after his leadoff triple made the score 10-2. Ingaldson scored later in the inning on a wild pitch, and Cummins drove home White with a sacrifice fly to give Purdue an even dozen runs on the scoreboard.
The Hilltoppers pushed across three runs in the eighth inning against reliever Matt Bischoff, but the late rally was far from enough.
After collecting 10 extra-base hits on Friday, the Boilermakers knocked WKU pitchers for seven more on Saturday. Through two games, Purdue has scored 22 runs and registered 33 hits, including 12 doubles, two triples and three home runs.
The series concludes on Sunday with a 2 p.m. contest that will be broadcast via the internet at purduesports.com. Purdue will send freshman Tony Sedlmeyer (0-1) to the mound against WKU freshman Matt Ridings (2-0).