PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Purdue baseball scored three times with two outs early in the game and never fell behind thereafter, receiving solid relief work from Dalton Parker and Ross Learnard in a 7-6 series-opening win at Rutgers on Friday.
The Boilermakers (18-15, 6-4 B1G) improved to 5-1 in one-run games and 7-2 on Fridays. Purdue won its conference-leading 15th true road game of the season has been victorious in five of its last six Big Ten games dating back to April 1.
Learnard entered the game with the bases loaded and no outs in the ninth inning. He allowed a pair of inherited runners to score on sacrifice flies, but did not allow the tying run to advance past first base. It was the lefty's 22nd consecutive scoreless inning. He has allowed only three of 14 inherited runners to score this year.
Parker retired seven of the first nine batters he faced in his first outing since March 24, backing up starter Tanner Andrews (5-2). Purdue's staff ace worked 5 2/3 innings of four-run ball, inducing a key inning-ending 6-3 double play ball with the bases loaded and the Boilermakers clinging to a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth.
#Purdue scored 3 times with 2 outs in the 3rd inning & made a couple key defensive plays in today's 7-6 win at RU. https://t.co/xXwxBB2NEp
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) April 14, 2017
Nick Dalesandro drove in a run in three straight plate appearances. He had the second of Purdue's three consecutive two-out RBI singles in the third inning and now has nine RBI in the last five games. Evan Warden and Harry Shipley were a combined 3-for-6 with three walks, two RBI and three runs scored at the top of the lineup. Warden extended his reached base safely streak to 14 consecutive games.
Purdue had its leadoff man reach base safely in four of five innings from the third through seventh. That runner came around three times and the Boilermakers scored multiple times in all three frames. Alec Olund joined Warden as the only Purdue players to score twice Friday.
Olund also made a big play defensively in right center, a sprawling catch on a gapper hit by Milo Freeman with runners on second and third in the third inning. That play came moments after Rutgers had tied the game on a two-out, two-run single by Christian Campbell.
Bryce Bonner led off the third inning with his 10th double in 53 at-bats. But it took a two-out hit from Shipley to plate the freshman. Dalesandro and Skyler Hunter followed with RBI singles. Warden and Shipley both went first to third on singles in the inning. The Boilermakers were 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position and 5-for-12 with runners on base. Meanwhile, Rutgers (11-19, 0-4 B1G) left 10 runners on base.
Dalesandro came to the plate twice with a runner on third and less than two outs. He plated that runner on both occasions, driving in the go-ahead run with an RBI ground out in the fifth inning and plating what proved to be the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh. For the season, the sophomore has driven home a run from third base with less than two outs in 12 of his 15 opportunities.
First baseman Jacson McGowan made a big pick to complete the inning-ending 6-3 double play in the bottom of the fifth. It not only kept Purdue in front, but also allowed Andrews to remain in the game. Andrews responded by retiring the first two batters of the sixth inning before Parker was called upon with runners on first and second with two outs.
Game two of the series is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
.@RLearn_ & @DaltonTParker teamed up for final 10 outs of today's win. They discuss #Purdue's 1st game at Rutgers. https://t.co/UjdxWqvZGm
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) April 14, 2017