March 19, 2010
With a 70 percent chance of rain forecast for Sunday, Purdue and Ohio will play a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch for the opener of the twin bill is still scheduled for 1 p.m. with the second contest slated for a first pitch 30 minutes upon the conclusion of game one.
ATHENS, Ohio - A four-run sixth inning snapped a 1-1 tie as the Purdue baseball team won back-to-back games for the first time this season with a 7-4 win over Ohio in the opener of a three-game series at Bob Wren Stadium on Friday. The Boilermakers improved to 5-8 for the year and 4-2 on the eight-game spring break road trip with the victory, while the Bobcats dropped to 2-12 with the loss.
After exchanging single runs in the bottom of the third and top of the fourth, the Purdue offense snapped the stalemate by plating four runs on five hits in the top of the sixth.
Senior Nick Overmyer ignited the offensive outburst with a double to open the frame. A single and an advance on the throw from the outfield by Tyler Spillner in the following at bat placed runners on second and third with nobody out.
An Eric Charles single through the left side of the infield plated Overmyer and handed Purdue a 2-1 lead.
A grounder to short by Kevin Plawecki followed Charles for the first out in the inning, but a triple to deep center by freshman classmate Cameron Perkins pushed across two more runs to make it 4-1 Purdue.
An infield single by Brad Schrieber plated Perkins to cap off the scoring in sixth and staked the Boilers to a four-run lead.
The Bobcats cut the edge to 5-3 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame, but Purdue scratched across single runs in the seventh and ninth to secure a second consecutive win.
Purdue starter Matt Bischoff (3-1) picked up his third straight win on the mound. The right-hander allowed three runs on six hits while striking out seven and walking one.
Reliever Joe Haase replaced Bischoff in the seventh and allowed and unearned run in 1 1/3 innings before giving way to Calvin Gunter with one out in the eighth.
Gunter, who has taken over the closing duties out of the bullpen for Purdue, picked up his third save of the weeklong road trip by tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out two and walked none.
Ohio starter Bryce Butt (0-4) was charged with his fourth loss of the season after allowing five runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander struck out four and walked none.
Offensive standouts in Purdue's 14-hit day included a 3 for 4 day with a triple by Spillner, a 2 for 4 outing with an RBI and two runs scored by Charles and a 2 for 3, two-run effort by Overmyer out of the ninth spot in the batting order.
Catcher Payton Bieker, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the sixth, finished 2 for 2 with a triple and two RBIs in part time duty.
With a 70 percent chance of rain forecast for Sunday, Purdue and Ohio will play a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch for the opener of the twin bill is still scheduled for 1 p.m. with the second contest slated for a first pitch 30 minutes upon the conclusion of game one. Left-hander Matt Jansen will open the doubleheader on t he mound for Purdue, while right-hander Matt Morgan will take on the night cap.