Feb. 27, 2010
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Purdue baseball team squandered a six-run lead in the ninth inning, as Cincinnati rallied for seven runs in the final frame to steal a 7-6 victory at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge on Saturday.
After shutting out the Bearcats through the first eight innings and taking a 6-0 lead into the ninth, the Boilermakers ran into trouble when reliever Robert Ramer, working in his second consecutive game, walked Kevin Johnson and Braden Kline to lead off the inning.
Ramer struck out UC's Mikel Huston in the ensuing at bat, and appeared to be working his way out of the jam with a ground ball to short off the bat of Jamel Scott. However Barrett Serrato's throw to Jake Hansen on the attempted force out at second on the play missed the mark for a throwing error. The miscue allowed Johnson to score and placed runners on first and second with one out.
A wild pitch advanced the Bearcat runners to second and third and Ramer hit Chris Peters to load the bases and force him out of the game in favor of closer Kevin Cahill.
The senior right-hander surrendered a two-run single to T.J. Jones, cutting the Purdue lead to 6-3, before he got pinch hitter Justin Riddell to fly to right for the second out of the frame. With runners on first and second, Cahill then walked Kiley Jones to load the bases and issued a free pass to Cory Hough to force in the fourth run of the inning.
Freshman Brad Schreiber took over for Cahill on the mound and gave up a game-tying, two-run single past a diving Serrato at short to Johnson, and a sharp RBI-single to center by pinch hitter Beach Brooks to seal the UC come-from-behind victory.
The loss spoiled an outstanding start by Boilermaker right-hander Matt Morgan. The junior allowed just four hits over seven shutout innings, while striking out nine and walking one in the no-decision effort.
UC's Hough (1-0), who started the game as the DH, picked up the win in what was supposed to be mop up duty with a scoreless inning of work in the top of the ninth, while the Boilers' Cahill (0-1) was charged with the loss.
Purdue, which held control of the game for eight and half innings, plated three runs in the third on four consecutive hits by Kevin Plawecki, Barret Arthur, Serrato and Tyler Spillner and a UC error, another in the fifth on the Bearcats' second error of the game and two more in the seventh on RBI singles by Eric Charles and Angelo Cianfrocco.
Individually, Spillner and Jon Moore each paired hits for the Boilermakers in the loss. Moore finished with a double and a pair of runs scored, while Spillner drove in one and scored another.
Purdue will have to turn around quickly from the defeat, as it will take on Rutgers on Sunday at 10 a.m. in the final game of the Big Ten/Big East Challenge. Left-hander Matt Jansen is the scheduled starter for the Boilermakers.