SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team was one out away from a second consecutive upset victory on Friday night, but late heroics allowed Purdue to steal a come-from-behind win in the 10^th inning on a walk-off single.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The Cardinals (3-3) jumped on top early with a run in the first inning. Thursday night's hero, David Anaya, picked up where he left off against Notre Dame, driving in Cristian Rodriguez with a sac fly to center.
 
In the third, UIW capitalized on mistakes by the Boilermakers (5-0) to score two more. The Cardinals loaded the bases and forced a pitching change by Purdue. The substitution didn't work in the Boilermaker's favor however, as a passed ball allowed Rodriguez to come home.
 
Things took a strange turn on the next at bat. Anaya appeared to foul a pitch off of his foot, falling to the ground in obvious pain. Assuming the ball was foul, Purdue's defense froze, but home plate umpire Michael Grishman called the ball fair and UIW's base runners played on. Nick Diaz sprinted home before the Boilermaker's could react, and crossed home plate to give the Cardinals a 3-0 advantage.
 
One inning later, Shea Gutierrez reached on an error by the catcher, and UIW took a 4-0 lead as Sean Arnold scored on the play.
 
Purdue broke up the shutout in the fifth. Nick Dalesandro led off with a single through the right side, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch, before a Ben Kisle single to short allowed him to come in.
 
The Boilermaker's made it a game in the sixth inning, using a two-run home run from Jacson McGowan to pull within a run, 4-3.
 
With two on and two out, the Cardinals called John Shull out of the bullpen, and the UIW reliever struck out Bryce Bonner to prevent any further damage.
 
In the seventh, Purdue had a man on second with two outs, when Skyler Hunter launched a deep shot to center field. Mark Whitehead initially misjudged the ball and came forward, only to turn and retreat in a full sprint towards the outfield wall. At the last possible second, he leapt into the air and made an incredible over-the-head diving grab. Whitehead crashed hard to the ground, before emphatically raising his glove hand to show he'd maintained the catch. The miraculous play ended the inning, and prevented what would have been a game-tying run.
 
The Boilermaker's pulled out all the stops in the bottom of the ninth, utilizing three pinch hitters and a pinch runner. After the first two batters struck out and ground out, the Cardinals were one out away from back-to-back upset victories, but Purdue fought back with a two-out rally. Evan Kennedy crushed a double down the right field line, before a double to left center tied things up at four apiece.
 
UIW was unable to score in the top of the 10^th, leaving the door open for the Boilermaker's. Hunter led off with a double to center, before scoring on a walk-off single by Nick Delasandro.
 
LEADERS
 
Rodriguez, Arnold and Diaz each registered a hit and a run on the night, while Anaya turned in both of the Cardinals' RBIs.
 
Dalesandro paced Purdue with a 3-for-5 night, a run and an RBI on the game-winning walk-off single.
 
Luke Taggart tossed 5.2 innings for UIW, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits, while fanning 4 batters. Shull (1-1) took the loss, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits through 3.1 innings on the hill. He struck out 3 and walked 1.
 
Trevor Cheaney (1-0) picked up the win, throwing 3.0 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Cardinals take on Saint Louis at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Sunday's matchups, including the tournament championship, will be determined by Saturday's results.
 
STAY TUNED
    
UIW travels to College Station on Wednesday to face No. 10 Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m.
 
To purchase tickets to any UIW Athletics home event, contact Ticket Sales Coordinator Alma Lara at 210-805-3012.
 
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