March 19, 2006

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis battled for two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth to top Purdue 6-5 Sunday afternoon at The Billiken Sports Center. After the Boilermakers (8-5) took the lead on a three-run home run from Eric Wolfe in the top of the seventh, the Billikens (8-9) chipped away at reliever Trae Dauby over the next two innings to set up Bill Musselman's game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the eighth.

Purdue's Spencer Ingaldson put the Boilermakers on top with an RBI single in the top of the third. The Billikens answered in the bottom of the inning when Ryan Crespi led off with a triple to left center field and Tom Pinnell brought him home with a sacrifice fly.

After SLU starter Brock Hewitt worked around a walk in the top of the fourth, SLU took its first lead of the series in the bottom of the frame. Tim Landy opened with a double down the right field line and moved to third when Purdue starter Ricky Heines' pickoff throw sailed into centerfield. Gilbert Marlowe put a single through the left side to plate Landy, but Heines recovered to strike out the next three hitters and keep his team within reach.

Neither side generated any offense over the next two innings until Hewitt hit Dane Wolfe with a pitch in the top of the seventh. Mitch Hilligss drove a double to center to move Wolfe to third, and Ingaldson plated his second run of the day on a single to left. With runners on the corners, Eric Wolfe gave Purdue a 5-2 lead when he put one over the wall in right. Hewitt turned the game over to reliever Etienne Ratte-Delorme, who worked around an error by inducing a double play ball off the bat of Ryne White.

Dauby took over for Heines, and the Billikens went right to work on the senior right-hander. Neil Graser led off with a single through the left side and came home on Ziggy Moore's triple over the head of centerfielder Kyle Reesing. Crespi brought Moore home with a ground ball to the shortstop, but Dauby kept the lead at 5-4 with a pair of strikeouts.

Ratte-Delorme retired the side in order in the top of the eighth, and Greg Rodgers opened the bottom of the inning with a single to left. Landy sacrificed him over to second, and Marlowe drove in the tying run with a single to center. With Marlowe on second following an error, the Boilermakers turned to Chris Toneguzzi to close preserve the tie, but Musselman put one strong enough through the left side to bring Marlowe home for the 6-5 lead. Toneguzzi struck out the next two hitters, but the narrow margin was all Ratte-Delorme needed as he again sat the Boilermakers down in order in the top of the ninth.

Dauby fell to 1-1 with the loss, while Ratte-Delorme improved to 2-0 on the season. Marlowe and Musselman each recorded a pair of hits for the Billikens, while Ingaldson led all hitters with three singles.

The Billikens are continue their four-game homestand with a 2 p.m. game against UT-Martin on Tue., Mar. 21.