April 25, 2010
Site: West Lafayette, Ind. (Lambert Field)
Score: Northwestern 6, Purdue 3
Records: NU (15-23, 7-5 Big Ten), Purdue (23-16, 6-6 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Wednesday, April 28 -- vs. UW-Milwaukee (Miller Park), 4 p.m.
Box Score
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Northwestern overcame a lengthy rain delay prior to the start of the game and another one in the bottom of the eighth inning to earn a 6-3 victory over Purdue and a series win Sunday afternoon at Lambert Field. The series win is the third consecutive for the Wildcats who moved into a four-way tie for first place in the jumbled Big Ten standings.
Remarkably, one game separates the top seven teams in the conference with the Wildcats, Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State knotted for the top spot at 7-5 after 12 games.
Following heavy rains Saturday night and throughout the morning on Sunday, the series finale between NU and the Boilermakers started two and a half hours late.
Matt Jansen got the start for Purdue and worked around a pair of walks in the top of the first inning, but his third free pass of the game to start the second quickly marked the end of his afternoon. Drew Wurdack replaced Jansen on the bump and allowed an RBI single Jack Havey that put the Wildcats in front.
Another hit by Geoff Rowan and Arby Fields' second walk in as many innings loaded the bases for Chad Noble who drove home a pair with a single to right to give NU a three-run cushion.
Purdue got a run back in its half of the second to get within 3-1. Ryan Bridges doubled to center to score one, but Fields, Trevor Stevens and Noble teamed up to nab Nick Overmyer at the plate attempting to score a second run on the play.
A solo home run by Cameron Perkins in the Boilermakers' half of the third got the hosts back to within a run. However, Northwestern took advantage of two Purdue errors in the top of the fifth to get that run back. A throwing error put Noble at second base, before a failed pickoff moved him to third. Paul Snieder brought him home with a groundout to give NU a 4-2 lead.
Snieder came on to pitch in the fifth and hurled a scoreless frame before Perkins closed the Purdue deficit to one run again in the sixth with his second round-tripper of the contest.
One more scoreless inning by Snieder in the seventh preceded the Wildcats tacking on two big insurance runs in the top of the eighth. Consecutive one-out walks by Kevin Cahill caused the Boilermakers to go to the bullpen. However, Noble took the first offering he saw from Calvin Gunter right back up the middle for a single to make it 5-3. With two away, Chris Lashmet hit what appeared to be an inning-ending grounder to second but Purdue's fourth error of the game allowed another run to score as Northwestern extended its advantage to three.
Zach Morton took the mound to start the bottom of the eighth and fanned the first two batters he faced before the rain finally began to fall again, forcing the teams into a rain delay. Fifty minutes later, the game resumed and Morton allowed a four-pitch walk before whiffing Drew Madia to successfully strike out the side.
Morton then hurled a perfect ninth inning to finally close out a long-awaited win for Northwestern.
Havey, Morton, Noble and Stevens led the Wildcats with two hits apiece. Snieder earned his first win of the season, allowing one run and two hits in three innings of relief. Morton hurled the final two scoreless frames with three strikeouts to pick up his first save.
Northwestern returns to action Wednesday as it takes on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a doubleheader at Miller Park. The game is slated to begin at approximately 4 p.m., or an hour following the completion of the noon game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates.