May 14, 2009

Box Score

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Illinois scored first but Purdue put runs on the board in six of eight innings in which they batted on the way to a 12-3 win by the Boilermakers. DH Willie Argo (Davenport, Iowa) and second baseman Josh Parr (Chillicothe, Ill.) each reached base four times for the Illini as they drop to 32-17 overall and 15-7 in the Big Ten.

"We just didn't play well in any phase of the game today," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "But that's one of the great things about baseball: we get to go back out there and play another game tomorrow."

Illinois scored first with a run in the second inning. Third baseman Dominic Altobelli (Oak Forest, Ill.) stayed hot, lacing a single back up the middle and moving to third on consecutive groundouts. That brought up right fielder Pete Cappetta (Lisle, Ill.), who drove in Altobelli with a liner to left field for a 1-0 advantage.

But Purdue got the run back in the bottom of the second on a two-out solo homer by shortstop Nick Overmyer, tying the game at 1. The Boilers added a run in the third on a two-out RBI double by third baseman Dan Black for a 2-1 lead. Purdue tacked on another tally in the fourth on a second solo homer with two outs, this time off the bat of right fielder Alex Jaffee, to go ahead 3-1.

The Orange and Blue tied the game in the fifth with a pair of runs on three hits. Argo drew a leadoff walk and moved to third on Parr's single through the right side. Center fielder Joe Bonadonna (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) drove him home with a sacrifice fly and Parr stole second, which allowed him to scamper around from second on a base hit by left fielder Casey McMurray (Willow Springs, Ill.) to knot the score at 3.

But the Boilers got to Illini starter Phil Haig (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) in the fifth, when Black blasted a three-run bomb to left-center to put Purdue ahead 6-3. The Old Gold and Black added a single run in the sixth on two hits and two walks to go up 7-3.

Illinois looked to have something brewing in the seventh when Argo led off with a double and Parr singled to the shortstop. But after a popped up bunt attempt and a pair of groundouts, Purdue kept the Illini off the board.

Nick Chmielewski (Orland Park, Ill.) entered in relief of Aaron Martin (Georgetown, Ill.) in the seventh. He gave up a leadoff walk and the runner made it to second on a throwing error by first baseman Matt Dittman (Libertyville, Ill.) when the runner, Eric Charles, was in a rundown. But Chmielewski bore down and got a groundout to Altobelli and consecutive punch-outs to keep Purdue off the board for the first time since the first inning.

But the Boilermakers broke the game open in the eighth, scoring five runs - including a grand slam by DH Drew Madia - to increase their lead to 12-3. The Illini looked to rally in the ninth as Cappetta reached on an error to start the frame and Argo drew his second walk. Parr singled to load the bases and Cappetta came home on Bonadonna's second sacrifice fly of the game. McMurray drove home Argo with a groundout, but another groundout ended the rally and the game, with Purdue taking the 12-5 win.

Parr was 3-for-4 with a stolen base and a run, and Argo went 2-for-2 with a double, two walks and two runs. Bonadonna and McMurray each drove in two runs and Cappetta had Illinois' other RBI.

Up Next: Illinois and Purdue square off in game two of the series Friday at noon (CT), with Will Strack taking the hill for the Illini and Matt Jansen toeing the rubber for the Boilers.