May 16, 2010
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Drew Wurdack turned in a solid start on the mound and Nick Overmyer and Ryan Bridges hit multi-run homers, as Purdue won the rubber game of its three-game Big Ten series over Illinois with a 6-1 victory on Sunday. The win kept the Boilermakers (30-19, 12-9) hopes of a regular season league title intact as they remain one game behind conference-leading Minnesota (13-8) in the standings.
Wurdack (5-3) allowed just one run on five hits in a season-high 7 1/3 innings of work. The right-hander did not record a strikeout and walked three, but teamed up with reliever Joe Haase to strand nine Illini runners on base and seal the series victory.
Illinois starter Matt Milroy (1-2) was charged with the loss after allowing three runs on three hits in only two innings of work.
Offensively, the Boilermakers rebounded from being shutout for the first time this season to plate six runs on eight hits on Sunday. Overmyer smashed his fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot to left, to put Purdue on the scoreboard in the second, and Bridges, who saw a season-high 13-game hit streak come to an end on Saturday, added a two-run shot off the scoreboard in left in the top of the fifth to push the Boilermaker advantage to 5-0.
The Illini plated a single run in the bottom of the fifth, but Kevin Plawecki countered with a two-out single in the seventh to push the Boiler edge back to five.
Outfielder Jonathan Lilly collected half of Purdue's hits in the contest, finishing 4 for 5 with a run scored.
Purdue will host Butler on Tuesday for its final home game of the season before heading out to Iowa City, Iowa, for a pivotal three-game Big Ten series with the Hawkeyes this Thursday-Saturday. First pitch for the final nonconference tilt of the season against the Bulldogs at Lambert Field is scheduled for 4 p.m.