Mar. 8, 1997

Purdue Pounds Stetson

The Purdue baseball team took the first two games of a three-game series with Stetson in DeLand, Fla., on Saturday. The Boilermakers won the first game 12-4 and the second game 7-1 in seven innings.

In game one, Purdue (3-4) pounded out 16 hits, including two home runs by freshman Mike Rose. The Boilermakers big inning was the second when they put up five runs. Rose led off the inning with a solo home run. Third baseman Ryan Cole then doubled and advanced to third on a single by catcher J.T. Ortiz. Centerfielder Mark Tomsyck drove home Cole with a single, giving Purdue its second run of the inning. After two outs, leftfielder Robb Ramacher and designated hitter Bill Bennett drew consecutive walks, scoring Ortiz. Shortstop Daryl Hallada then extended the Boilermaker lead with a two-run single. Purdue added three more runs in the fourth inning and two in each the eighth and ninth innings.

It was more than enough support for Purdue pitcher Mike Hedman. Hedman pickud up his second consecutive victory with a seven-inning performance, allowing only one earned run while striking out four. Senior Matt Luce pitched two strong innings of relief, striking out four.

Game two featured more of the same as the Boilermakers notched 10 hits. Purdue trailed 1-0 early as the Hatters took the lead in the first inning. The game belonged to Purdue the rest of the way. The Boilermakers scored two in the third and one in the fourth to take the lead. In the fifth, Purdue broke it open with three runs. Ramacher, Cole and Bennett each drove in runs in the inning. The Boilers would add one more in the seventh.

Once again, Purdue received a fine pitching performance. This time it was senior Chris Bloomer who picked up the victory. He went sex innings, allowing only one run whiile fanning eight. Bloomer felt the Boliermakers really came together as a team to start off the spring trip. "We finally played as a team today," said Bloomer. "We performed well in the three important parts of the game: pitching, hitting and defense. As a team, we haven't had a lot of success in Florida the past few years, so it's nice to get a pair of wins against a national-caliber team."

Purdue will face Stetson again today in DeLand, Fla., in a single game at 5 p.m. 

Game Stats
Purdue 7, Stetson 1
Purdue   002 130 1  -  7 10 0
Stetson  100 000 0  -  1  6 1

P: Bloomer, Howard (7) and Lorek; S: Brown, Lasso (5) and Fellmon, Cameron (7). 2B: Metzler (2) (P), Ramacher (2) (P), Rothstein (1) (P), French (6) (S).

WP: Bloomer (1-0), LP: Brown (0-3).