Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Purdue
Indiana Rallies Past Rival Purdue
4/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 14, 2006
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana baseball team rallied from a two-run deficit to defeat rival Purdue 8-4 in its Big Ten home opener. Junior left fielder Jay Brant homered and scored three runs to lead the Hoosier offense, and sophomore reliever Doug Fleenor picked up his first career win by throwing three scoreless innings of relief. IU improved to 11-18 overall and 3-6 in the Big Ten, while the Boilermakers fell to 18-10 and 5-4 in conference play.
Junior shortstop Josh Richardson finished 2-for-3 on the day with a double and two RBI. Freshman first baseman Cameron Satterwhite notched a pair of RBI, while senior designated hitter Zach Boswell went 2-for-4 with a home run, one RBI and one run.
The Hoosiers got off to a quick start thanks to Brant who led off the bottom of the first with a home run to left off Purdue starter Jay Buente to give IU a 1-0 lead. It was Brant's fourth home run on the year, which equals a career-high for long balls in a season.
Boswell increased the Hoosier lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth when he led off the inning with a home run of his own. The Berrien Springs, Mich., native hit his third homer of the campaign to right-center field.
Indiana starter Clint Crosier dominated the Boilermakers early on. The Hoosier southpaw retired 15 of the first 20 Purdue batters he faced and allowed just one runner to reach third in the first five innings. Crosier left in the sixth inning and allowed three runs on five hits while walking one and striking out two.
The Hoosiers ran into trouble as Purdue got on the board in the sixth. Right fielder Neal Gorka delivered a grand slam to give Purdue a 4-2 lead.
The lead would be short-lived as the Hoosiers mounted a comeback in the home half of the sixth. Brant and center fielder Reggie Watson drew consecutive one-out walks from Buente. Richardson then doubled home Brant to make it 4-3.
With runners at second and third and two outs, Boswell launched a deep fly ball to right center field but was robbed of extra bases on a jumping catch by Gorka to end the inning and keep the Boilermakers up.
Indiana continued the rally with two outs in the seventh by playing small ball. With the bases loaded, Watson smashed a grounder, which was kicked by Purdue first baseman Eric Wolfe. Junior second baseman Keith Haas, who went 2-for-4, scored on the error to tie the game at 4-4.
Richardson followed Watson with a bases-loaded RBI walk to reclaim the lead. Before the inning was over, Satterwhite increased the lead to 7-4 by driving in Brant and Watson with a single down the right-field line. The RBI were the seventh and eighth on the season for the freshman.
The Hoosiers added an insurance run in the eighth inning. Boswell singled to right, and pinch-runner Trevor McConnell stole second base. After advancing to third on a groundout, McConnell scored on a wild pitch by Boilermaker reliever Andrew Groves to make it 8-4.
The four-run lead was more than enough for Fleenor. After allowing a leadoff single, Fleenor retired nine straight Boilermakers to end the game.
IU will continue its Big Ten opening series with a doubleheader on Saturday. Game one is set to begin at 1 p.m. (EST). The winner of the series will garner a point in the AT&T Crimson and Gold Cup. The Hoosiers currently lead the all-sport battle between the instate rivals at 9-5.
