May 22, 2008
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Dan Black said he put being left off the all-conference team behind him, but he also made sure Penn State realized the Purdue sophomore is as good as they come in the Boilermakers' 15-5 drubbing of the Nittany Lions in Thursday's action of the Big Ten Baseball Tournament.
Black was a perfect 4-4 at the plate against Penn State, scoring twice and driving in a season-high six runs. Black's second and third trips to the plate served as an exclamation point to the day as the sophomore launched his 14th and 15th home runs of the season, his third multi-homer game of the season.
"I was just seeing the ball really well today," Black said. "I got a couple fast balls to hit early in the game and everything just rolled from there."
Black's six RBI give him 65 on the season, a mark that ranks third all-time in Purdue hardball history. The record of 74 was established by Mike Biltimier in 1993, one ahead of Brett Roach's former record of 73 in the 1987 season.
However, it wasn't just Black who excelled at the plate on Thursday. Every Boilermaker in the starting lineup had at least one hit and one run, while seven of the nine starters in the order had multiple-hit afternoons.
That offensive production was match by the performances of Matt Bischoff and Drew Wurdack on the mound.
Bischoff improved to 6-3 on the season with six innings on the hill, allowing four runs on five hits with two strikeouts. The sophomore right-hander was better than his numbers show as one pitch was left a little high in the zone and consequently hit out of the park to right for a three-run shot.
"We joked with Matt (Bischoff) that he'll need to find that ball when he goes on his campus run tomorrow," head coach Doug Schreiber said. "Overall we are very happy with the performance by our pitchers today."
The day was a record-setting day for the Boilermakers as Purdue amassed some of the biggest offensive numbers ever produced by a Boiler squad in postseason history.
Purdue's 15 runs were the most by the Boilermakers in Big Ten Tournament action, snapping the old record of 10 runs scored against Illinois in 2006 and against Wisconsin in 1986. The 21 hits in the game are the most by Purdue in postseason action, breaking the old record of 18 set against Illinois in 2006.
The Boilermakers wasted little time setting records as the team scored six times in the bottom of the first inning, surpassing the former top inning of five runs from a 1993 tournament game against Indiana.
The Purdue offense pounded PSU pitching all afternoon, following up the six-run first inning with three runs in the second and three more in the fourth. A single run in the fifth and two runs in the sixth capped the Boilermaker onslaught.
"A win here puts us in the position we've been striving to get to," Schreiber said. "Having a bye on Wednesday and winning on Thursday sets us up in good position. Whether we face Michigan or Illinois, we know we'll be in for a good game on Friday, but a win there puts us in the championship game."
Purdue will take on the winner of the Thursday evening matchup between No.1-seed Michigan and No.4-seed Illinois. Purdue's Friday contest will is scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. ET first pitch, depending on the length of games played earlier in the day.
Purdue's game on Friday will be carried on the Big Ten Network nationwide, as well as on WSHY 1410 AM in the Lafayette area and on the web through PurdueSports.com. The contest will also be broadcast on worldwide satellite radio via XM Radio on channel 196.