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Boilers travel to Tennessee
to face three baseball
teams
The Purdue baseball team continues its season today
as it travels to Clarksville, Tenn., to take on Illinois State, Ball
State and Austin Peay.
After going 2-1 in its opening weekend, with upsets
of No. 1-ranked Rice and No. 24 ranked Wake Forest, the Boilermakers
found themselves ranked 25th in the most recent Baseball America Top
25 Poll, which was released Monday. It marks the Boilermakers' first
ever appearance in the poll.
The Boilermakers won the Coca-Cola Classic last
weekend, taking two of three games. Rice also won two games, while Central
Florida and Wake Forest each won one game. It marked Purdue's first
baseball action outdoors since last season's Big Ten Championships.
Against Wake Forest, Purdue trailed early, as the
Demon Deacons jumped out to a 1-0 lead after Matt Price walked in the
first inning, advanced to second on a single, then advanced to third
on a Chadd Blasko wild pitch.
In the second inning, Wake Forest added three more
runs as Nick Blue singled, then advanced to second on a throwing error,
driving in Corey Sullivan and Jamie Athas. Blue later scored on a wild
pitch to give Wake Forest a 4-0 lead.
Purdue got one run back in the bottom of the second.
Brad Kriner doubled to lead off the inning, then scored from second
two at-bats later as freshman Mitch Koester, who was impressive on both
sides of the ball over the course of the weekend, drove him home with
an infield single. Koester drove a ball that spun past pitcher Ben Clayton,
and by the time he got to it, Koester beat out the throw and Kriner
scored.
Wake Forest made the score 5-1 in the third inning
as Sullivan reached base on a fielder's choice, advanced to second on
an error, then to third on a wild pitch. He scored off a Steve LeFaivre
single, giving the Demon Deacons what seemed to be a commanding 5-1
lead.
The Boilermakers started their battle back in the
bottom half of the sixth innning. A Brad Kriner sliding catch for the
second out of the fifth inning gave the team a little motivation defensively.
They came to bat in the sixth, and quickly got two runs back.
Nick McIntyre led off the inning with a base hit,
and was followed by a Kris Luce single. Both runners advanced on a Ben
Clayton wild pitch. Wake Forest went to its bullpen, substituting Ryan
Braun for Ben Clayton. Braun threw a wild pitch, which scored McIntyre
and moved Luce up to third. Nick Treadway then singled to centerfield,
driving in Luce. The Boilermakers now trailed 5-3.
Freshman Billy Lester came in and put together
an impressive collegiate debut. Lester replaced starter Chadd Blasko
after five innings, and pitched three scoreless innings to put the Boilermakers
in good position to gain ground.
The Boilermakers exploded for three more runs in
the seventh inning, taking a 6-5 lead. Mike Duursma led off the inning
with a walk, then moved over to second after a balk, then to third base
on a passed ball. Duursma scored the fourth Boilermaker run of the day
on a Dave Blomberg sacrifice fly, narrowing the Wake Forest lead to
5-4. Nate Sickler followed up with a single, then stole second base,
his second stolen base in as many games. After Nick McIntyre grounded
out to second, Sickler advanced to third base on the play, and scored
as Kris Luce nailed a double, evening the score at 5-5.
Kriner then stepped to the plate and added a base
hit, moving Luce over to third base. After a wild pitch, Luce scored
to give the Boilermakers the lead at 6-5, with Kriner moving to third
base.
Lester retired three out of four batters he faced
in the eighth inning, and finished with three scoreless innings, yielding
just two hits.
Ben Kaebisch started the ninth inning yielding
a base hit and a walk. Doug Schreiber then decided to insert a right-handed
pitcher on the mound, sending Matt Skripsky to replace Kaebisch. He
got one quick out as he got pinch hitter Carlos Brack to ground out
to first base. The runners advanced to second and third. In a bold move,
Skripsky intentionally walked Jamie Athas, loading the bases. It paid
off as Jason Aquila hit a ball sharply in the direction of the third
baseman Koester. Koester took great command of the play, gunning his
defensive stop over to Dave Blomberg who threw out Aquila at first base,
ending the game and clinching the victory with a double play.
Lester was credited with the victory, while Skripsky
got the save. Purdue closes their first weekend series with a record
of 2-1, while Wake Forest drops to 4-2. The Boilermakers were credited
with winning the Coca Cola Classic, as they held a tiebreaker over Rice,
despite losing to Central Florida. Rice finished with a 2-1 record,
losing only to Purdue. Central Florida and Wake Forest each won one
game.
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Purdue
78, Michigan 59
Boilers
fall to No. 19 Lions
Brees
travels to Indianapolis for NFL scouting combine
Purdue
faces must-win at Michigan
Purdue
to host Track Championships
Purdue
high jumpers hope for 1-2-3 finish
Boilers
travel to Tennessee to face three baseball teams
Men's
tennis team prepares to play weekend matches
Men's
golf team hosts tournament in Puerto Rico
Women's
golf team travels to Dallas for Midwest Classic
SPORTS DESK PHONE:
(765) 743-1111
ext. 251
Sports editor:
Paul Trembacki Assistant sports
editor:
Anne
McLaren
To
send a letter to the editor, please email opinions@purdueexponent.org
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