May 2, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Purdue baseball team took advantage of a balk, a run-scoring wild pitch and a two-run single from Ryan Bridges to thwart a second consecutive come-from-behind bid from rival Indiana in an 10-7 Boilermaker victory in 10 innings at Sembower Field on Sunday.
After watching Indiana rally to tie the game at 7-7 with two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to force extra innings for a second straight day, the Boilermakers (25-17, 8-7) staged their own rally to pull off a pivotal Big Ten series win over the Hoosiers (21-21, 7-8).
Jonathan Lilly ignited the Boiler rally in the 10th with a one-out single and was followed by a four-pitch walk to Nick Overmyer to place runners on first and second.
After Tyler Spillner popped up in foul territory for the second out, Lilly got IU reliever Mike McKinley to balk him and Overmyer to second and third by distracting the freshman right-hander into an illegal turn towards second.
McKinley then fired a wild toss past catcher Wes Wilson on a ball-four pitch to Eric Charles to plate Lilly and place runners on first and third.
Charles stole second to move into scoring position, and Bridges rewarded him and Overmyer with a trip home on a two-run single through the right side of the infield to push the lead to three.
Reliever Joe Haase (1-1) retired the Hoosier side in order to pick up his first win of the season, give Purdue the two-to-one series victory and hand a valuable point to the Boilers in the Crimson and Gold Cup standings.
The Boilermakers opened the scoring the third on a sacrifice fly by Charles after Overmyer was hit by a pitch and Spillner hit his 12th double of the season.
IU responded with a four-run bottom of the fourth to take a three-run edge on an RBI double by Alex Dickerson and a three-run homer off the bat of Tyler Rogers.
Purdue cut the lead to one in the top of the sixth with a pair of runs on an RBI single by Drew Media and run-scoring ground out by Angelo Cianfrocco after Charles doubled and Bridges drew a walk to open the frame.
The Boilers retook the lead with three runs in the top of the seventh on a run-scoring single by Spillner and RBI sacrifice bunts by Charles and Madia.
Cameron Perkins took advantage of the Hoosiers napping defensively as he raced all the way around from first to score on a single to left by Overmyer in the eighth.
Lilly, who started the game in center and moved to right in the eighth, had a game-saving catch at the wall on a Rogers drive in his first action in the new position and turned the play into a twin-killing by throwing behind IU's Josh Lyon to end the frame.
A day after scoring four runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at 11-11, the Hoosiers forced the game into extra innings again by plating a pair of runs in the home half of the ninth on a two-run double from Jerrud Sabourin.
Offensively, Purdue rapped out 15 hits on the day to IUs 10. Individually, Madia led the way by going 4 for 4 with pair of RBIs, while Spillner finished 3 for 6 with an RBI and the double. Bridges and Lilly each paired hits for the Boilers in the win, while Overmyer scored three times.
The Boilermakers will take the week of play off for final exams before returning to action on Saturday for their final Big Ten home series when they host Michigan State for a trio of games. First pitch for the opener is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Lambert Field.