April 15, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. - Right-hander Drew Wurdack provided a big boost for the Purdue pitching staff with a solid seven-inning start in the Boilermakers' 5-2 win over Illinois State on Wednesday. The victory avenged a 12-11 loss to the Redbirds last week at Lambert Field and improved the Boilers to 16-15 for the season. ISU dropped to 16-12 for the year with the loss.
Wurdack (1-1), who allowed six runs on five hits in a 3 2/3-inning start against the Redbirds last week, surrendered just a pair of unearned runs on six hits on Wednesday. He struck out a career-high seven batters and did not issue a walk to pick up his first win of the year.
Offensively sophomore David Blount led the charge for Purdue, finishing 3 for 5 with a double, a triple, two RBIS and a run scored. Junior Dan Black added a pair of hits, including his ninth double of the season, to go along with a run scored and an RBI.
The Boilermakers committed errors on three consecutive plays in the third inning to stake the Redbirds to a 2-0 advantage, but rallied to tie the game in the top of the fourth on Blount's RBI triple and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Nick Overmyer.
The Boilers took the lead in the fifth when redshirt freshman Eric Charles extended his hitting streak to 13 straight games with a one-out double before coming around to score on Blount's two-out run-scoring double later in the frame.
The Boiler bats tacked on insurance runs in the seventh and eighth and Wurdack turned the mound over to the bullpen after seven. Relievers Jeff Straub, Connor Sestak and Kevin Cahill combined to work a scoreless eighth and ninth to wrap up the victory. Cahill earned his team-leading fourth save of the year after working around a pair of singles and a walk in the ninth.
The Boilermakers return action on Friday when they host Ohio State for the opener of a three-game Big Ten series at Lambert Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.