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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue baseball scored six times in the eighth inning to rally past Penn State, 7-3, and clinch its first Big Ten series victory in the three-year history of Alexander Field Saturday afternoon in the season finale for both teams.
The Boilermakers (20-34, 6-17 Big Ten) finished their season on a five-game winning streak, the program's longest to close out a campaign since the 1992 team won its final six games.
Penn State (18-30, 6-16 Big Ten) led game two of the doubleheader 4-3 in the top of the fifth inning when a lightning delay went into effect. Rain followed and with more storms in the forecast, the head coaches mutually decided to call the game before it became official. It marked the first time Purdue had a Big Ten game canceled since March 2009 at Northwestern.
Kyle Wood (.326, 7 HR, 34 RBI) finished the season as the first team crown winner since Ryne White in 2007. He shared the team lead in home runs and RBI with Kyle Johnson, who played only three innings Saturday due to a leg injury.
Joe Eichmann struck out a career-high nine over 5 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in his final collegiate outing, setting the stage for the Boilers' comeback win. He matched Shane Bryant for the most strikeouts by a Purdue pitcher this season. Eichmann (3-2) retired 17 of the 21 batters he faced, including 10 in a row after giving up a two-run double to the first batter to stand in against him. He worked three 1-2-3 innings. In four relief appearances as an upperclassman against PSU, he retired 29 of the 33 PSU batters he faced.
Eichmann was one of four Boilers honored between games of the doubleheader. Classmate Brandon Krieg was among the quartet. He had a run-scoring hit in both games Saturday, plating the game-tying tallying in the six-run eighth inning rally. Krieg also scored on the most exciting play of the frame inning, using a nifty slide to touch home safely on Jeff Evak's hard hit ball to third base that Ryky Smith snared with a nice diving stop. Krieg finished his career riding an 11-game reached base safely streak.
Seniors Brett Haan, Brandon Krieg, Joe Eichmann & Matt Gibbs along with support staff members Andrew Marking & Birke Duerloo.
Purdue sent 11 men to the plate in its big inning, the six runs making it the second-biggest rally of the season. The offensive outburst began with Alec Olund getting hit by a pitch and Harry Shipley drawing a walk against sidearmer Jack Anderson (4-5). The first seven Boilers to come to the plate in the inning had a productive plate appearance. The Nittany Lions used four pitchers in the inning.
Brett Carlson and Jack Picchiotti singled in runs to cap the six-run rally. Picchiotti had pinch hit for James Jewell an inning earlier. Jewell drove in Purdue's first run of the day with a two-out single in the fifth inning.
Evak had two hits and scored twice after replacing Johnson in center field to start the fourth inning. In the nightcap of the doubleheader, he threw out a runner at the plate from center field during PSU's four-run fourth inning that gave the Nittany Lions the lead.
Three straight two-out hits from Wood, Jordan Lewis and Krieg had given Purdue an early 2-0 lead in the game that was eventually rained out. Lewis and Krieg came through with consecutive doubles.
The Boilermakers finished their season winners of six of their last seven games. They'll have to bid adieu to their four seniors but are slated to return starters at every position player spot except third base.
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The third & final set of 2015 Purdue baseball trading cards, which were distributed Saturday.