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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue baseball had the edge in the hit column for the second day in a row, but No. 16 Michigan kept the Boilermakers off the scoreboard until the ninth inning to spoil the home finale at Alexander Field 5-1.
Purdue (26-23, 10-11 B1G) did not hold the lead in any of its four games this week and has now lost a season-high five straight after suffering its first series sweep of the year. The Boilermakers entered the month with an opportunity to join the 2001, 2006 and 2012 teams as Purdue's only squads since 1990 to go a full season with being swept. The Boilermakers closed their longest homestand since 1983 with a 7-6 record.
Purdue will enter the final week of the regular season in a tie with Northwestern for seventh place in the Big Ten standings. The top eight teams qualify for the Big Ten Tournament, set for May 24 to 28 in Bloomington, Indiana. Michigan State is ninth place, a game back at 9-12 in league play. Next weekend, Purdue visits Minnesota, Northwestern hosts Rutgers and Michigan State has a split-site series with Michigan featuring two games in East Lansing and one in Ann Arbor. Since the Boilermakers and Spartans did not play each other in the regular season, the potential head-to-head tiebreaker would be records vs. common Big Ten opponents. Michigan State is expected to win that potential tiebreaker. However, a three-way tie between Purdue, MSU and NU would likely leave the Wildcats as the odd-team out.
Mark Wasikowski recaps a tough weekend vs solid Michigan team & salutes our seniors for finding a way to contribute. https://t.co/JdUZJaKZXr
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) May 14, 2017
The Boilermakers out hit Michigan (39-12, 14-7 B1G) 10-6 Sunday and 26-21 for the series. But the Wolverines outplayed the home team in other facets of the game. Purdue committed six errors to U-M's one. Six of Michigan's 21 hits went for extra bases, including five triples. The Big Ten leader in steals was 8-for-12 on stolen base attempts. With a runner on third base and less than two outs, the visitors plated that runner in all seven of their opportunities.
The Boilermakers were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and 4-for-21 with runners on base Sunday, leaving 10 men on base. For the weekend, Purdue stranded 22 runners to the Wolverines' 13. The Boilermakers finished the weekend 4-for-23 with runners in scoring position and did not have a two-out RBI.
Ross Learnard's consecutive scoreless innings pitched streak officially ended at 35 2/3 on a two-out RBI single by Miles Lewis in the top of the eighth. It was the first run the relief ace had been charged with since March 5. Thanks in part to a pitch out on a failed suicide-squeeze attempt, Learnard escaped the bases-loaded jam he inherited an inning earlier.
Dalton Parker accounted for six of Purdue's 10 strikeouts, the team's most in Big Ten play this year. Parker also matched his season high. The freshman faced only 12 batters over his first four innings after a pair of leadoff singles were erased by an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play and a caught stealing.
#Purdue highlights from today's 5-1 loss to Michigan. #BTN will also televise our 1st 2 games at Minnesota next week https://t.co/YZ4Y3960C9
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) May 14, 2017
Michigan starter Michael Hendrickson (6-2) made it through six scoreless innings, giving way to the bullpen after surrendering a leadoff double to Alec Olund in the bottom of the seventh. Purdue recorded six hits against the lefty over the first four innings, but all six were singles. Hendrickson recorded seven strikeouts vs. one walk and induced a 6-4-3 double play after giving up consecutive singles to begin the bottom of the fourth.
Skyler Hunter was 3-for-4 with a pair of leadoff singles. Olund also reached base safely three times.
Seniors Ted Snidanko, Hayden Grant, Tanner Schumacher, Adam Dressler and Brian Ghiselli all had an opportunity to play in their final games at Alexander Field. Schumacher (1-4) made his first career Big Ten start and worked a 1-2-3 first inning, striking out the first two batters of the game. He surrendered only one hit through two innings, but Michigan scored a pair of unearned runs against him in top of the second.
Dressler and Ghiselli both retired the lone batter they faced on a foul pop up. Snidanko had a base hit in the fourth inning as the designated hitter.
Purdue is back in action Tuesday, closing out midweek play with a 6:30 p.m. ET game against Fort Wayne in Kokomo, Indiana.
Nick Dalesandro, Ross Learnard & Jacson McGowan with a special #HappyMothersDay message from the #Boilermakers. https://t.co/gTrh2liY05
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) May 14, 2017