March 15, 2011
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Purdue baseball managed just two hits against a quartet of Vanderbilt pitchers, suffering its first shutout loss since April 2009 in a 9-0 defeat to the No. 1/2 Commodores Tuesday afternoon.
The Boilermakers (11-4) had at least one base runner in seven of the nine but had two runners thrown out at second base and stranded seven on the day. Having lost Sunday in walk-off fashion, Purdue has suffered its first set of back-to-back losses this season.
Ranked No. 1 in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 30 poll, Vanderbilt (17-1) took an early lead with a run in the bottom of the first and went on score in five of the eight frames in which it batted. The Commodores posted their 10th consecutive win Tuesday.
The Boilermakers managed just a pair of singles against freshman left-hander Kevin Ziomek, who earned his first collegiate victory five shutout innings. Purdue's best chance to cut into the deficit came in the fourth inning when Eric Charles walked and Cameron Perkins singled through the right side to begin the frame. But Ziomek got Kevin Plawecki to line out to third and started an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play on a comebacker off the bat of Barrett Serrato.
A pair of plays at the plate highlighted the day for the Boilermakers. Plawecki blocked the plate effectively on a squeeze bunt attempt by the Commodores in the bottom of the first, with Purdue starting pitcher Joe Haase throwing out Anthony Gomez at the plate. Then in the seventh, Serrato threw out Joe Loftus at the plate after a base hit to right field.
Haase (2-1) pitched into the sixth, keeping Purdue in the game after a rough third inning. The junior surrendered five runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings, striking out four. He pitched over leadoff singles in the fourth and fifth innings, retiring six of the eight batters he faced from the third through sixth innings. The Boilermakers also backed up Haase by turning an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play in the fourth.
Three doubles and a walk allowed Vanderbilt to score three times in the third inning. The Commodores' cleanup hitter Jason Esposito drove in runs in the first, third and eighth innings, connecting for a two-run homer to left in his final at-bat.
Now 2-2 on its spring break trip, Purdue continues its eight-game tour through the state of Tennessee Wednesday when it takes on Belmont on Nashville's east side. Blake Mascarello is scheduled to start on the mound for the Boilermakers.