LINCOLN, Neb. -- Gavin Downs induced 13 ground ball outs over seven innings of four-hit ball and Brett Carlson drove in both runs with a pair of RBI singles, leading Purdue baseball to a 2-1 win at Nebraska Sunday afternoon.
The Boilermakers (16-34, 3-17 Big Ten) became only the fourth team (of 12) to win in Lincoln this season. The Huskers (34-18, 9-11 Big Ten) entered the day 21-4 at home in 2015.
A leadoff triple from Kyle Johnson in the second inning and a one-out double by Kyle Wood in the top of the fourth both led to runs after Carlson singled in his first two at-bats.
Downs worked three 1-2-3 innings, which came in the first two frames of his outing along with the last. Matt Frawley retired five of the six batters he faced to close out the victory and earn his first collegiate save. Purdue turned a 4-6-3 double play to finish off the win.
The Boilermakers out hit Nebraska, 9-4. Downs did not surrender an extra-base hit and allowed the leadoff man to reach base safely in only one of the seven innings he worked.
After giving up an RBI single to the Husker's No. 9 hitter in the third inning, Downs induced consecutive comebackers from the next two batters. However, he threw the ball away into center field while trying to retire the lead runner on the first of the two comebackers. But moments later Downs induced another comebacker and started the inning-ending 1-6-3 double play with runners on the corners.
Frawley pitched in relief for the first time this season. He worked a 1-2-3 inning vs. Nebraska's 1-2-3 hitters in the bottom of the eighth. But a hit by pitch put the leadoff man on base for the Huskers the following frame. Frawley regrouped and struck out Austin Darby for the first out and then got Austin Christensen to hit into the game-ending twin killing.
Brandon Krieg, Johnson and Carlson all finished with two hits. Johnson also drew a walk in the sixth inning to reach base safely in three of his four plate appearances. The junior extended his reached base safely streak to 15 straight games, matching Harry Shipley for the longest run on the team this year.
Shipley made a nice running catch in shallow center field for the second out of the bottom of the eighth inning, taking a potential bloop single away from Blake Headley. Nebraska's two and three hitters, Headley and Ben Miller, were a combined 0-for-8 and did not reach base in any fashion.
Purdue won for the second time this season when scoring two runs or fewer. The rubber game of the series is set for Monday at 2 p.m. ET.
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