May 24, 2008
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Purdue Nine came one run shy from forcing a Sunday game in the Big Ten Tournament, falling to top-seed Michigan 3-2 at Ray Fisher Stadium in the tournament championship game.
The Boilermakers needed to win Saturday evening against the Wolverines, ranked 17th in the country, in order to force the "If Necessary" game for a chance at the tournament championship and the Big Ten's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Purdue scored twice in the second inning and held the 2-0 lead into the fifth inning before Michigan scored one run in each the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. The Boilermakers put two runners on with two out in the bottom of the ninth, but a UM pitcher Michael Powers recorded a strikeout to end the game.
"I am very proud of this team right now," head coach Doug Schreiber said following the game. "These guys never stopped fighting, not today and not this season."
The Boilermakers (32-26) will hope for an at-large big into the NCAA Tournament when selections are announced on Monday after finishing second in the Big Ten in the regular season and second in the conference tournament, both behind Michigan.
Purdue scored twice in the second inning to grab the initial 2-0 lead. Jon Moore's double to left-center scored Alex Jaffee from first base, and Nick Overmyer's single drove home Moore to put the Boilers on the scoreboard.
Boiler starting pitcher Tony Sedlmeyer put zeroes on the UM scoreboard in the first four innings before the Wolverines broke through with a run in the fifth on an unearned run.
Michigan scored single runs in the sixth and seventh on a solo home run by Ryan LaMarre and a wild pitch to grab a 3-2 advantage.
Purdue threatened against Powers, the tournament's MVP, in the ninth inning on a single by Drew Madia and a walk to Brandon Haveman, but that was as close as the Boilers would get.
"We had opportunities to score but couldn't get it done," Schreiber said. "If only we had been able to extend the early lead when we had the opportunity.
"I thought we pitched well," Schreiber added. "We bobbed and weaved for through the first four innings or so, and it was just a matter of not being able to extend that lead."
The Boilermakers had two players named to the all-tournament team as sophomore Dan Black and junior Jon Moore were selected by the members of the media to the squad.
Black hit a tournament-record five home runs and set a tournament record with a 1.571 slugging percentage, while Moore batted .462 with five RBI and an on-base percentage of .588.
The NCAA Tournament selection show will air on Monday, May 26, at 12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. College baseball fans can see the announcement of the 16 sites for the NCAA regionals on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 25.