March 23, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue Nine completed the weekend sweep over Western Illinois with the most offensive performance by a Boilermaker squad in two seasons, defeating the Leathernecks 22-10 at Lambert Field.
The 22-run effort was the best by the Boilermakers since Purdue defeated Indiana 25-8 on April 16, 2006. The game was the fifth 20-plus run contest in 10 seasons under head coach Doug Schreiber and the 39th in the program's 121 years.
The win gave Purdue (6-11) a four-game sweep over WIU, the first sweep of a four-game series for the Boilermakers since sweeping Minnesota at Lambert Field on April 29, April 30 and May 1, 2005.
WIU (1-13) got on the scoreboard first and led through three innings, the first time the Leathernecks had led during the series. Single runs in the first, second and third innings gave the Leathernecks a 3-2 lead.
Purdue's first two runs came in the first inning with two down when Jordan Comadena doubled to right field to drive home Brandon Haveman. Dan Black followed with a double to center than plated Comadena with Purdue's second run.
Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Boilermakers took full control of the game with a 12-run explosion, including runs by each of the first 10 batters to come to the plate in the inning.
The fourth inning opens with walks to Black and Kyle Reesing and a misplayed bunt by Jon Moore. With the bases loaded, John Cummins singled up the middle to score two runs. A bunt single by Nick Overmyer loaded the bases and Haveman walked to drive home the third run of the inning. A Ben Wolgamot double to the gap in left-center cleared the bases, upping Purdue's newly-found lead to 8-3.
Ryne White continued the fourth-inning onslaught as he doubled down the right field line to score Wolgamot. Following a single by Comadena, Black doubled to right to plate White. After a strikeout, Moore singled to right to drive in Comadena and move Black to second base. Cummins walked to load the bases and Overmyer singled to left to drive in Black and Moore. An RBI groundout by Haveman plated Cummins with the 12th run of the inning, giving Purdue a 14-3 lead.
In the offensive fourth inning, the Boilermakers put the first 10 batters of the inning on base and scored eight times before the first was recorded.
WIU answered the Boilermakers with six runs in the top of the fifth inning to cut the Purdue lead to 14-9. The inning was highlighted by a grand slam by third baseman Tyler Metcalf, his first home run of the season.
A Comadena double, a Reesing single and a sacrifice fly by Moore gave Purdue a single run in the fifth to go up by six.
After sending a total of 17 batters to the plate in the fourth inning, the Boilermakers batted around again in the sixth, scoring six times and increasing their lead to 21-9.
Overmyer led off the Purdue sixth with a single and was followed by Haveman reaching base on an error. A single by Wolgamot loaded the bases by White, who promptly doubled to right-center to drove home two runs. With one out Black was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Reesing, and the Purdue designated hitter drove a 1-2 offering over the left field wall for a grand slam, his first home run of the season.
Purdue and WIU traded single runs in each team's final at-bat to conclude the scoring in the 22-10 final.
Matt Jansen (1-1) was credited with the win out of the Purdue bullpen, pitching 1.2 innings. The sophomore southpaw yielded three runs on two hits and struck out one. Tony Sedlmeyer started on the hill for Purdue and went 2.1 innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits. The Boilermakers also had relief appearances by Matt Morgan (2.0 innings, three runs), Andy Loomis (2.0 shutout innings) and Tristan McIntyre (1.0 inning, one run).
Seven of the nine Purdue starters in the batting order had multiple-hit games as the Boilermakers totaled 19 hits - the team's highest hit total of the season. Purdue was led by Comadena, Moore and Overmyer - each with three hits. Reesing drove in four runs to lead the squad while White added three RBI.
In the four-game series the Boilermakers out-scored the Leathernecks 47-12 while out-hitting WIU 59-22. Purdue had 22 extra-base hits on the weekend, including 17 doubles - eight in Sunday's second game.
For the weekend the Boilermaker offense batted .396 while the pitching staff posted a 2.25 earned-run average in 36 innings on the hill. The weekend was made complete by solid defense as the Boilermakers committed just three errors for a .981 fielding percentage.
Purdue returns to Lambert Field for game five of a nine-game homestand on Wednesday at 4 p.m. as the Boilermakers take on Valparaiso. The game will be broadcast on the radio in the Lafayette area on WSHY 1410 AM and on the web through PurdueSports.com.