May 16, 2008
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - When it rains, it pours.
That phrase was literally correct on Thursday evening when Purdue and Illinois were rained out at Illinois Field, and it was figuratively on the money on Friday when the Boilermaker bats blasted away at Illini pitching.
The Purdue Nine scored 27 runs and collected 34 hits in 16 innings of baseball on Friday, sweeping Illinois in a Big Ten doubleheader 14-4 and 13-8.
The sweep clinched second place in the Big Ten for the Boilermakers, securing the first-round bye in the conference tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., next week. The sweep also gives Purdue 20 wins in conference play, the most for a Boilermaker team in program history.
Purdue is now 20-9 in the Big Ten, surpassing the former record for most wins in conference play of 19 in 2001.
In the first game of the twinbill the Boilermakers ripped off a season-high 21 hits and tied a season high with eight doubles in the convincing 14-4 win. Ben Wolgamot and Dan Black led the way with four hits each, Ryne White added three and Brandon Haveman, Jonathan Lilly, Jon Moore and John Cummins each had two hits.
Purdue's offense wasted no time in jumping on Illinois pitching, scoring once in the first inning, five times in the second and twice in the third to build an 8-3 early lead. A single run in the seventh led to a five-run eighth to cap the offensive onslaught.
Black drove in a run in the first with a single, two in the second with a double and added two more RBI in the eighth with a second two-bagger to lead Purdue with five RBI.
Black's first inning single opened the scoring when Wolgamot scored from second after doubling with one out.
Up 1-0, Purdue scored five times in the second beginning with Cummins' single, a single by Overmyer and an RBI base hit by Haveman. White walked to load the bases for Black, who doubled to right to score Overmyer and Haveman. Jordan Comadena followed with a two-bagger to right-center, plating White and Black for a 6-0 lead.
Illinois scored three times in the home half of the second, but Purdue responded immediately with two runs in the third. With two down and Cummins on second base, Haveman singled to right to drive home a run. Haveman swiped second base and Wolgamot followed with an RBI single to right to up Purdue's lead to 8-3.
The Illini scored a single run in the sixth to pull to within four, but the Boilermakers would blow the game open beginning in the seventh. Lilly opened the inning with a double to left-center and was moved to third with a sacrifce bunt. A wild pitch by Mike Stankiewicz allowed Lilly to race home with Purdue's ninth run.
In the eighth inning Haveman walked to open the frame and advanced to third on a single by Wolgamot. White lined a double to the wall in right-center to score Haveman and Black followed with a two-run double to right-center. Lilly doubled to drive home Black and, after a fielder's choice put out Lilly, Cummins tripled to left-center to score Moore from first with the game's final run.
Matt Bischoff picked up his fifth win of the season, pitching 6.0 innings with four runs allowed. Andy Loomis and Kevin Cahill combined to throw three shutout innings to close the game for the Boilermakers.
Game Two opened with a bang as White connected for his 10th home run of the season on the first pitch he saw from Illinois starter Scott Shaw in the first inning. White's two-run blast scored Lilly after the sophomore singled with one out. Black continued the inning with a hit-by-pitch and later scored on a double by Cummins. With one on base and two out, Moore swatted an 0-2 pitch over the left field wall for his first homer of the season and a Purdue 5-0 lead.
After a single run by Illinois in the first, Purdue added two runs in the second when Lilly single up the middle with two down and White followed with a second longball of the day. White's two home runs give him eight during the Big Ten Conference season, a new Purdue record.
The Boilermaker offense continued to click in the fifth with the team's fourth five-run inning of the day. Black opened the inning with a double and advanced to third on a Drew Madia single. After two consecutive outs, Eric Nielsen doubled down the left field line to drive home both baserunners. Kyle Reesing and Haveman walked to load the bases and Lilly singled to left to drive home two runs. A wild pitch followed, allowing Haveman to score from third with Purdue's 12th run of the game.
Boilermaker miscues in the field, three of them, allowed Illinois to close the scoring deficit with a five-run fifth, making the score 12-6 in favor of Purdue.
The Boilermakers added a single run in the seventh when Reesing scored from third on a sacrifce fly by Haveman. Two runs by Illinois in the bottom of the seventh drew the Illini to within five, but Illinois could get no closer as Josh Lindblom came from the bullpen to retired the last three Illini batters.
Kyle Cook was credited with his fifth win of the season, allowing two earned runs in 4.2 innings on the hill. Allan Donato, Matt Morgan and White took the mound for Purdue before turning the game over to Lindblom to close out the win.
Lilly was 4-5 at the plate in the nightcap while White was 3-4 at the dish for the second consecutive game.
Purdue and Illinois return to the diamond on Saturday for a twinbill beginning at 5 p.m. ET. The first game will be broadcast on WSHY 1410 AM in the Lafayette area, and both games can be heard via the web at purduesports.com.