EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Purdue University shortstop Barrett Serrato’s RBI single in the top of the 10th inning snapped a 3-3 tie here on Sunday and helped the visiting Boilermakers to a 4-3 victory over the University of Evansville Purple Aces in the final game of the 2010 Dunn Hospitality Diamond Classic at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

 

After the teams traded single runs in the ninth inning to send the game into extra-innings, Serrato followed a one-out double by outfielder Barret Arthur with a single to left field to plate Arthur with the go-ahead run in the 10th inning against UE senior reliever Tom Heithoff (1-2). Evansville was able to get a two-out base hit by sophomore infielder Trentt Copeland after a caught stealing in the bottom of the frame, but Serrato was able to silence the threat with a nice play on a hard-hit ball by UE junior infielder Ryan Oesterle to end the inning and preserve Purdue’s 4-3 victory.

 

“Today’s game was a typical pitcher’s dual, and today, Purdue was able to come through with that one clutch base hit which proved to be the difference in the game and we were not,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “It is disappointing, because our pitchers, especially starter Scott Scheumann, really pitched well today, but offensively, we were just not able to come through with that big base hit.”

 

Scheumann was dominant at the start for UE, as he faced the minimum number of batters through five innings, and carried a 2-0 lead into the sixth innings thanks to an RBI bunt single by freshman catcher Chris Pearson and an RBI ground-out by junior outfielder Nate Smith in the second. Scheumann would eventually tire in the sixth inning, though, and Purdue’s Eric Charles delivered a two-run double against reliever Jake Naumann to tie the game at 2-2. 

 

Scheumann scattered just two runs on two hits, while striking out eight for UE in 5.1 innings of work. As good as Scheumann was, though, Purdue senior left-hander Matt Jansen was equally as effective, as he held Evansville to just two runs (one earned) on three hits in 7.0 innings of work, while striking out 10.

 

The game would remained tied at 2-2 until the ninth inning, when the Boilermakers struck for a run when Purdue’s Tyler Spillner was able to avoid a tag by Pearson on a play at the plate with an acrobat dive on a run-scoring single by catcher Kevin Plawecki. The bottom of the UE order would answer back in the bottom of the ninth inning though against reliever Joe Haase, as Oesterle was hit to lead off the inning, and after a sacrifice bunt, Smith came through with an RBI single that bounced over the head of the second baseman to tie the game at 3-3.

 

Serrato, Plawecki and Charles all had two hits for Purdue, which improved to 3-7 on the year and 2-1 in the Dun n Hospitality Diamond Classic with the victory. Copeland was the lone Purple Ace to record a multi-hit game, while Smith added a pair of RBI for UE, which dropped to 6-10 on the year and 2-1 in the Diamond Classic with the loss. The loss snapped UE’s season-best three-game winning streak as well. Evansville, Purdue, and Morehead State all finished the Diamond Classic with 2-1 records, as Morehead State defeated Le Moyne College, 6-4, in today’s first game. 

 

Evansville will return to action on Tuesday, as the Purple Aces will hit the road to take on Austin Peay State at 6:00 p.m. in Clarksville, Tennessee. UE will also travel to Saint Louis University on Wednesday for a 3:00 p.m. game, before returning to Braun Stadium next weekend to host Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in a three-game weekend series.