April 6, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Back-to-back solo home runs by David Blount and Jon Moore in the third handed Purdue its first lead and a pinch-hit grand slam by Dominick D'Agata in the seventh capped off a 13-hit day as the Boilermakers defeated visiting Valparaiso 14-5 at Lambert Field on Tuesday.
The victory halted a two-game slide for the Boilers (14-12), while the Crusaders (9-17) saw their four-game winning streak come to an end with the loss.
Valpo jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the contest, plating three runs on four hits in the first and tacking on a single run in the second, but Purdue cut the edge to one with three runs on an RBI double by Nick Overmyer, a run-scoring single by Kevin Plawecki and a bases-loaded wild pitch by Crusaders' starter Austen Siwiec in the bottom of the second.
Blount and Moore went yard in consecutive two-out at bats in the bottom of the third to hand the Boilers the lead for good, and Purdue tacked on single runs in the fourth and fifth and answered a Valpo score in the top of the sixth with a lone run in the bottom of the frame to push the advantage to 8-5.
Plawecki chipped in with his second run-scoring hit in the game in the seventh, a two-run double, after Tyler Spillner was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Nick Overmyer collected his third hit in the contest.
With one out and Plawecki on second, reliever Will Hagel loaded bases on a single by Ryan Bridges and by plunking Stephen Talbott. The pinch-hitting D'Agata crushed his first collegiate home run in the ensuing at bat to clear the bags and put four more runs in the scoreboard.
Kevin Cahill (1-2), one out six Boilermaker pitchers in the contest, picked up his first win of the season with two scoreless innings of work out of the bullpen. The right-hander struck out four and walked two.
Valpo's Steve Godawa (0-4) was charged with the loss after surrendering the lead on the back-to-back jacks in the third. He allowed a total of three runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings pitched.
Overmyer and Moore each finished the day 3 for 5 at the plate, with Overmyer hitting a pair of doubles, driving in two runs and scoring three times. Moore's third-inning solo home run was his second long ball of the year and he also scored three times and finished with three steals.
Purdue will return to league play this weekend when it heads to Ann Arbor, Mich., for a three-game series against the Wolverines. First pitch for the opener on Friday is scheduled for a 7 p.m. and Matt Bischoff, the reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, is slated to start. All three games of the series will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.