Hey folks,
Finally got set up in the press box with a little internet, so I thought I'd bring you some live blogging for your reading pleasure. Keep in mind it's dial-up, so it might come slow.
Bottom 7th
Home run Andrew Means, his first of the year. He almost had one yesterday but for the wind, and he sent that pitch over the left-center field wall to tie the game at 4-4. The Hoosier dugout also appears to have been warned for something, though it's hard to tell from here what exactly happened. Perhaps I spoke too soon on extras...
Schutz grounds into a fielder's choice, so he's at first with Means up.
Trager walked to put the leadoff man on for just the second time today. Kipp Schutz is pinch-hitting for Cox, and Purdue's bringing on a lefty to face the Evansville native.
Top 7th
Bashore will go the distance (assuming we don't have extra baseball), as he retired the side with only a Ryne White single marring the seventh inning.
Bottom 6th
Purdue struck out the side, 1-2-3. Pretty much indicative of the Hoosiers' day.
Top 6th
Bashore settled down in a big way after a rough start, and he's got nine strikeouts to prove it. The only strike against the sixth was a Will Overmeyer single that came to nothing after Overmeyer's ill-advised decision to try and take second on the throw - Means threw him out easily.
Bottom 5th
More stranded runners for the Hoosiers, as Evan Crawford is left at second. He reached on a one-out walk and stole second after Josh Phegley flew out to center. But Jerrud Sabourin hit one deep to left center field that Purdue's Jordan Comadena hauled in, making Crawford the fifth runner stranded so far today, third in scoring position.
Top 5th
More trouble for Bashore in the fifth. He's struggled to hold runners, and it showed as he surrendered three stolen bases in the inning (six overall). Ryne White alone has three stolen bases. He had runners on second and third with two outs, but striking out designated hitter John Cummins got him out of the inning without incident.
Bottom 4th
Breakthrough for the Hoosiers, albeit a small one. With two outs and runners at the corners, Trager slapped a hard liner right at Purdue third baseman Dan Black, who bobbled the ball and pulled White off first base on the throw. Purdue argued what appeared to be a pretty close call, but to no avail. On the next at-bat, Tyler Cox lined a shot into center field, and the home-plate umpire ruled that Michael Earley scored before Trager was thrown out at third. 4-2 Purdue.
Top 4th
First easy inning for Bashore, who knocks Purdue down 1-2-3 with a strikeout thrown in. Trager looks solid defensively at third.
Bottom 3rd
Not much to report. Andrew Means drew a one-out walk and stole second with two outs and Phegley at the plate. But Phegley went around on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt and the inning ended with Means still at second.
Top 3rd
A better inning for Bashore, but he's still struggling with his control. He hit Purdue slugger Dan Black - the fifth time Black has been hit by a pitch or intentionally walked this series (he's 1-for-2 with a home run in two official at-bats). However, he's still got five strikeouts so far through three innings. No runs, no hits, no errors, one left.
Bottom 2nd
The Hoosiers put Tyler Cox on with one out. He traded places with Michael Earley after Earley hit into a fielder's choice. But Ethan Wilson, at third for Evan Crawford, struck out. Wilson, who also made an error in the first that cost IU a run, just got pulled in favor of senior utility man David Trager.
Top 2nd
Matt Bashore is plain struggling right now. He's given up ___ runs already, thrown a load of pitches for the first two innings and even made a throwing error that let Purdue's Brandon Haveman advance all the way from first to third. He's not hitting his spots and is falling behind on a lot of counts. He did redeem himself at the end of the inning by hustling to cover first and tagging Ryne White when he caught Jarrud Sabourin's throw over and realized he wouldn't be able to beat White to the bag.
Bottom 1st
Evan Crawford - playing in right field today in place of a struggling Kipp Schutz - got on with a one-out single and moved over to second on a wild pitch to Jerrud Sabourin. But Sabourin popped out in foul territory on the third base side, and the inning ended with little fanfare.
Top 1st
And Bashore gets out, but gives up three runs. Purdue center fielder Jon Moore knocked a bases-loaded single that scored two before Moore was thrown out trying to take second. Score it 9-3-6 on the put out, and the Hoosiers are getting ready to bat.
We're in the top of the 1st right now, and Matt Bashore is struggling. He's struck out two, but he's also given up one run already and walked the bases loaded. He's thrown a lot of pitches already, not good for a Hoosier bullpen that went deep yesterday in an 11-7 loss.
