March 23, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue Boilermakers continued its pitching dominance over Western Illinois on Easter Sunday with an 11-2 win in the first game of the afternoon's doubleheader at Lambert Field.
Purdue shut out the Leathernecks twice on Saturday and allowed only one earned run to the WIU bats in Sunday's first game.
In the opener the Purdue Nine (5-11) scored twice in the first and second innings to build a 4-0 lead, then put the game away with a six-run sixth inning.
Ryne White's RBI single in the first put Purdue on the scoreboard first, scoring Brandon Haveman from third base. A passed ball allowed Ben Wolgamot to come home with the inning's second run.
In the second inning John Cummins tripled to right-center to drive home Jon Moore. With two outs in the inning, Haveman scored his second run of the game on a single by Wolgamot.
WIU (1-12) scored twice in the third to cut the Purdue lead in half, but the Leathernecks would not get any closer.
White tacked on another run for the Boilermakers in the fifth inning when he led off the frame with a home run to right field, his second home run of the season.
The big inning for Purdue in Game One, the sixth, began quietly enough when Dan Black's sacrifice fly drove home Wolgamot with the inning's second out. However, Drew Madia connected for an opposite-field homer to left, his first of the season, driving in Jordan Comadena and White in front of him. A Moore double and a Cummins walk were followed by a two-bagger by Nick Overmyer that scored both runners and gave Purdue the 11-2 win.
Connor Sestak (1-0) picked up the win in the start, pitching 5.0 innings and allowing two hits and two runs while striking out a career-high five batters. Kevin Cahill and Drew Wurdack each added two scoreless inning on the mound to secure the win.
Wolgamot and Moore led the Boilermakers with three hits each, while White, Madia and Overmyer each added two hits.
The Boilermakers out-hit the Leathernecks 15-3, marking the most hits by Purdue this season while equalling the fewest hits surrendered in a contest this year (Baylor, Feb. 22).