NORMAL, Ill. -- Illinois State had multiple base runners in seven of the eight innings in which the home team came to bat, scoring four times in the first inning and cruising to a 10-2 victory vs. Purdue baseball Tuesday evening.
There were a combined 28 hits in the game, the Redbirds (12-27) racking up three leadoff doubles among their five extra-base hits. Meanwhile, all 10 of the Boilermakers' hits were singles.
Purdue suffered its first loss in Normal since 2005. The home team was winless in the annual midweek series from 2009 to 2014, but has now been victorious each of the last two years.
Illinois State opened the game with five consecutive hits, chasing starter Jacob Preston (0-1) before he was able to record an out. It marked the fourth time this season a Purdue starting pitcher did not make it out of the first inning.
The Redbirds recorded six leadoff hits, were 7-for-16 with runners in scoring position and also scored three runs on sacrifice flies. The Boilermakers (7-31) had five inning-opening hits, but were just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Three different ISU players reached base safely four times. Sean Beesley had a four-hit game from the nine-hole in the lineup. Daniel Dwyer and Blake Molitor were only retired once apiece in their five plate appearances. They too accounted for a leadoff double over the first three innings.
Cody Strong, James Jewell and Alec Olund all recorded two hits for Purdue. Jewell improved to 9-for-22 over the last seven games and Olund posted his fifth multi-hit effort in the 10 last games. Kyle Johnson extended his reached base safely streak to 14 consecutive games with a fifth-inning single and also made the top defensive play of the game, a diving catch in left center to take away an RBI double from Jean Ramirez in the bottom of the second.
The Boilermakers stranded five base runners over the first four innings, leaving four of those men in scoring position as Purdue failed to keep pace with the Redbirds' early scoring spree. Strong reached third base with one out in the top of the first inning but did not score. It foreshadowed the frustrating night that followed.
Jack Picchiotti drove in Purdue's first run of the night with a blooper to short right field with the bases loaded and one out in the second inning. But the Boilermakers caught a bad break when ISU was able record a force out at second base on the play. Strong followed with a well-executed hit and run RBI single through the right side, but the hit plated what proved to be Purdue's final run of the night.
The Boilermakers return to action Friday when they begin a Big Ten series vs. Ohio State at Alexander Field. MTC Sports Network will again be offering a free multi-camera webcast. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.