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COLUMBUS, Ohio - Purdue baseball committed a season-high five errors and gave away numerous free bases on walks and wild pitches, losing 13-2 at Ohio State in the series opener Friday.
The Boilermakers (13-12, 1-3 B1G) lost on Friday for only the second time in seven games this season. But things got away from Purdue on early this night. The Buckeyes (11-14, 1-3 B1G) scored three times with two outs in the first inning and went on to score in each of the first four frames to open up a 9-0 lead.
Tanner Andrews (4-2) retired only nine of the 21 batters he faced while throwing 90 pitches over three innings. He issued a season-high five walks and also hit a batter. But even more damaging were the four wild pitches he was charged with. Ohio State scored four runs on wild pitches in the game. Andrews pitched his three innings almost entirely in the rain.
The game began promisingly for Purdue with Evan Warden getting hit by a pitch and Harry Shipley reaching on an error while executing a sacrifice bunt. Warden was plunked for the 15th time, extending his national-high total. But a ground ball double play and a strikeout quickly squashed the potential rally. In the bottom half of the frame, Andrews retired the first OSU batters before the next four reached base safely. Two runs scored on a wild pitch that had to be collected by first baseman Jacson McGowan near the dugout.
Andrews issued four walks in the second inning, more than he had in any of his first six starts this season. He was able to escape a bases-loaded jam to limit the Buckeyes to a single run in the inning. But the following frame, five consecutive OSU batters put together a productive plate appearance to post another three-run rally.
Nick Dalesandro (21 straight games) and Skyler Hunter (15) both singled to extend their reached base safely streaks. Hunter had a two-out RBI single in the eighth inning as the Boilermakers avoided the shutout.
Former OSU closer Yianni Pavlopoulos (2-2) pitched well in a spot start, surrendering just two hits over five innings. He retired 13 of the 18 batters he faced, did not issue a walk and induced a pair of ground ball double plays.
Hunter Wolfe worked a pair of scoreless innings after the defense let him down with a couple misplays in his first frame on the hill. The freshman retired 8 of the final 10 batters he faced in his longest outing of the season. Adam Dressler struck out a pair in a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh.
Bryce Bonner recorded his sixth double in the last 11 games while serving as Purdue's designated hitter for the first time this season. He has reached base safely in all 12 games in which he has started this season while hitting safely in all but one. McGowan led off the second inning with his team-leading ninth double, but Bonner was unable to move him into third base in the subsequent at-bat and Purdue stranded McGowan at third.
The series continues Saturday at 6 p.m. ET live on the Big Ten Network.