March 3, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Spencer Ingaldson's two-out bunt single in the ninth inning sent the Boilermakers to a 5-4 win over the No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.
The Boilermakers are now 2-1 on the season, while the Tar Heels suffered their first loss to dip to 8-1. The victory came against the highest ranked opponent to fall to the Boilermakers since Purdue defeated No. 1 Rice on Feb. 16, 2001.
Eric Osborn led of the top of the ninth with a single and advanced 90 feet when Dane Wolfe was hit by a pitch from Jonathan Hovis (2-1). A fielder's choice off the bat of Mitch Hilligoss gave Purdue runners on the corners with two outs when Ingaldson dropped down the RBI bunt base hit.
"Bunting is just part of our offense," Ingaldson said. "We are coached to be ready to lay the bunt down at any time in a game. In this instance, the third baseman was playing back at a big league depth, and we're not afraid to try to take advantage of that."
Chris Toneguzzi closed the game on the hill to pick up the win. Toneguzzi (1-0) pitched the final 1.1 innings in relief of starter Jay Buente and Trae Dauby.
"Although we played far from a perfect game, our players stepped up and made the plays and pitches in key situations," head coach Doug Schreiber said. "Jay (Buente) pitched well and gave us a chance to win despite not being as sharp as he was in the opener."
Buente went seven innings in his second start of the season, allowing four runs, two of which were earned. The senior yielded nine hits while striking out three. Dauby entered the game in the eighth inning and retired two batters before giving way to Toneguzzi.
The Tar Heels threatened in the bottom of the ninth, getting a runner to third base with just one out. However, Benji Johnson broke from third on a ground ball to first and was retired attempting to retreat back to third base when Eric Wolfe threw home, starting the 3-2-5 putout.
Hilligoss led off the game by driving the first pitch from UNC starter Robert Woodard over the wall down the left field line, giving Purdue the initial 1-0 lead.
The Boilermakers put up a two-spot in the fourth innings on three base hits. Spencer Ingaldson led off the inning with a single to right and moved to third on a double to left by John Hunter. Following a walk to Ryne White, a sacrifice bunt by Neal Gorka scored Ingaldson, while Gorka was safe at first on a throwing error by Woodard. A single through the left side by Eric Osborn pushed home Hunter with Purdue's third run of the contest.
Jay Buente worked out a jam in the home half of the fourth, posting a zero on the scoreboard after allowing runners to second and third with no outs. Singles by Reid Fronk and Josh Horton, followed by a wild pitch, gave the Heels a pair of runners in scoring position. However, groundouts to the corners and a three-pitch strikeout enabled Buente to escape the inning unscathed.
The Boilermakers tacked on one more run in the fifth inning when Hilligoss scored from third on a wild pitch. The Purdue shortstop led off the frame with a double to left and moved up 90 feet on a sacrifice by Ingaldson before the errant pitch allowed him to score.
The Tar Heels broke through against Buente in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Matt Iannetta. Matt Spencer led off the inning with a single, swiped second base, and scored on the two-out hit, making the score 4-1 Purdue.
North Carolina drew to within two in the sixth on a solo home run by Jay Cox down the left field line.
In the seventh, UNC scored twice to tie the score at 4-4 on a hit and two costly Purdue errors. Spencer reached base on a fielding error by Hilligoss, winding up at second on the play. Seth Williams followed with another mishandled ball to the left side of the infield that allowed Spencer to score, and moved to second on a sacrifice. An infield single by Iannetti advanced Williams to third, and Fronk's sacrifice fly to right drove home the tying run.
Purdue used a 10-hit attack to defeat the Tar Heels, including two-hit performances by Hilligoss (2-5), Ingaldson (2-4), White (2-4) and Osborn (2-4). Friday's game was the collegiate debut for White.
The Boilermakers return to Boshamer Stadium on Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest vs. UNC. Brent Coudron is scheduled to take the hill for Purdue, while Daniel Bard gets the starting nod for the Heels.