Feb. 24, 2008
WACO, Texas - The Purdue Nine battled through one of the longest games in Boilermaker baseball history but came up one run short in its attempt to knock off 15th-ranked Baylor, falling to the Bears in 11 innings, 11-10.
The game lasted four hours and 10 minutes and ranks as the second-longest game in terms of time of game in known Purdue history. The longest game played by a Boilermaker team lasted 4:19 on April 29, 2000, at Oklahoma State.
Baylor scored the winning run in the bottom of the 11th on a fielder's choice off the bat of Ben Booker, scoring Gregg Glime from third. Booker's groundball to second base was fielded by Ben Wolgamot who attempted to start an inning-ending double play, but Nick Overmyer's relay to first was not in time to get Booker, allowing the winning run to score.
The game opened with a Purdue explosion as the Boilermakers sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning, scoring four runs against Baylor pitcher Shawn Tolleson. Dan Black's two-run single and Kyle Reesing's two-run triple put the Boilermakers on the scoreboard in a big way.
Baylor plated an unearned run in the bottom of the first, but Purdue responded with a single run in the second on a fielder's choice by Black that scored Nick Overmyer from third.
In the Boilermakers' one-run second inning, Ryne White singled past Baylor third baseman Shaver Hansen to extend his Purdue-record hitting streak to 26 games, dating back to last season.
Purdue held a 5-1 lead into the fourth inning when the Bears jumped on Boilermaker starter Matt Jansen for six runs, highlighted by a Hansen grand slam to center. A single run in the sixth by Baylor upped the Purdue deficit to three runs, 8-5.
Another big inning put Purdue back on top as the Boilermakers plated five runs in the seventh inning. Alex Jaffee singled in a run and was followed by an RBI base hit by Overmyer. Back-to-back Baylor errors allowed the tying run to score, and White singled to right-center to drove home runs number nine and 10 for the Boilermakers, giving Purdue a 10-8 lead.
Baylor scored single runs in the bottom of the seventh and the eighth to force extra innings before winning the game in the 11th.
Tony Sedlmeyer was hit with the loss, pitching 1.2 innings of relief and allowing one run on one hit and two walks. The Boilermakers used six pitchers in the game. Following Jansen's start were relief appearances by Chris Ivanic (2.2 IP), Drew Wurdack (0.0 IP), Andy Loomis (1.2 IP) and Josh Lindblom (1.1 IP) before Sedlmeyer took the hill in the 10th inning.
The game was the second in a row in which Lindblom pitched 1.1 innings. In 10 career relief appearances for Purdue, Lindblom has pitched 13.2 innings with 12 strikeouts and has yet to yield a run.
Purdue and Baylor conclude the three-game series at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. The game can be heard on WSHY 1410 AM in the Lafayette area and on the web via Yahoo Sports.