By Keith Thomas
Staff Writer

Purdue center fielder Nate Sickler completed a superb series over the weekend against Indiana with a dramatic finish Sunday afternoon.

Hoosier fans will likely not want to see the likes of Sickler for a while following his weekend production against the Big Ten’s leading pitching staff.

For the four-game series against Indiana (24-18, 6-10 Big Ten), Sickler went 5-for-12 with eight RBIs and a pair of runs scored, including his team-leading ninth home run and ninth double, which is also a team-high. None of these hits, however, were as big as the one that came off the bat of Sickler on Sunday afternoon.

With one out and the Boilers (23-13, 9-7) down by one run, Sickler came through, hitting a double that gave Purdue the walk-off victory and provoking a celebratory "dog-pile" near home plate.

Not concerned with the pressure of the potential game-winning run on first base, Sickler was taking it as just another at-bat.

"I felt very relaxed," said Sickler. "I just sat up there and said, ‘alright, let him come to me,’ and he hung a slider and I put the bat barrel on it."

Sickler, although the immediate hero on Sunday, was not solely responsible for the Boilers' win. Senior catcher and co-captain Erik Frei’s hustle throughout the game — most importantly in the ninth inning — and some other key singles in the final inning were equally important factors leading to the big hit by Sickler.

Following back-to-back singles from shortstop Mike Duursma and left fielder Chris Walker, second baseman David Blomberg laid down a clutch, two-strike sacrifice bunt — moving both Boiler base runners into scoring position. Frei followed that up with an RBI infield single scoring Duursma and advancing Walker to third. Frei, who was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI, also kept the possibility of a sacrifice fly alive with his head-first dive into first base, just beating the throw of Indiana second baseman Benji Clause.

Sickler stepped to the plate with runners at the corners and still just one out. With the more than 270 Lambert Field occupants standing, Sickler lined a 2-2 pitch into the left centerfield gap — deep enough to score both Walker from third and Frei from second — completing the Boilers’ thrilling come—from—behind victory.

Coach Doug Schreiber said this win is special in more than one way.

"It’s basically a three-fold win," said Schreiber. "Conference wise, that was a big game because it separated us a little bit; confidence wise, the kids have got to be able to build off that and know we are never out of a game. And third prong, it was against IU and it was a fun game."

The momentum that Schreiber hopes his team will build off is similar to the contagious work ethic of Frei. The Rome, N.Y., native was able to contribute in several ways in Sunday’s win — not just offensively.

"(Frei) willed that hit and that as much as anything kind of gave us — ‘we’re going to get this thing done,’" said Schreiber.

Frei, who does not feel as though he is hitting the ball extremely well, said he is just happy to contribute in any way.

"I’m not doing exactly all I expect to do at the plate and it’s something I really can’t control," said Frei. "But some things I can control out there are stuff like hustle and going hard."

Hard is what opposing catcher Kevin O’Brien felt in a sixth inning collision at the plate with Frei, who was trying to score from second base. The incident, which prompted verbal warnings for both catchers from home plate umpire Lenny Brickens, was close to escalating into something serious before the coaches and other players were able to cool tempers and restrain some upset parties. Order was restored and the game continued without further incident.

On the mound Sunday for the Boilers was senior Russ Morgan (4-4), who threw 6.2 innings while recording eight strikeouts and giving up only three walks. Chadd Blasko and Ben Kaebisch combined for one inning of work before giving up the mound to closer Andy Helmer (2-0), who threw 1.1 innings, earning the win.

The Boilers spilt a double header with the Hoosiers on Saturday, losing game one 9-3 before taking the second game by a score of 8-0 — thanks to a seven-run second inning. Jeremy Ballard (5-2) earned the win in game two by pitching six scoreless innings while giving up only three hits on the day. Carlos Gomez came on to pitch a scoreless seventh inning to preserve the shutout.

The Boilers opened the series Friday with a 6-5 win over the Hoosiers. Ben Quick (4-3) earned the win and Helmer came on to record his Big Ten leading 12th save.