WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After failing to come up with any timely hits in a game one loss, Purdue baseball raced out to an early five-run lead in the nightcap to split its home-opening doubleheader with Lipscomb on Friday at Alexander Field. The Boilermakers won game two 6-2 after falling 3-1 in the opener.
March 24 Update: The rubber game of the series has been postponed until Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Fans with tickets for any rescheduled games this weekend can exchange the tickets for general admission seats to any future home game this season.
Purdue (10-10) snapped a seven-game losing skid with its victory in the nightcap. Evan Kennedy delivered a two-out, two-run double in the first inning and Nick Dalesandro singled home two more the following frame. Harry Shipley scored in both innings, including the game's first run on a wild pitch that didn't leave the dirt circle around home plate.
The Boilermakers were 0-for-19 with runners on base in game one, stranding 10 men on base.
Led by Bo Hofstra's four scoreless innings of relief in game one, the Purdue bullpen worked eight shutout frames while surrendering just four hits.
Highlights from #Purdue's 6-2 win vs. Lipscomb in the nightcap of today's home-opening doubleheader. Two-run hits from Kennedy & Dalesandro allowed the #Boilers to jump out to an early 5-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/fpA5CDOCN9
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) March 24, 2018
Shipley reached base safely in six of his 10 plate appearances, recording two singles and a hit by pitch in both games while batting leadoff for the first time this season. The senior has multiple hits in four straight games, as part of a 9-for-16 stretch.
Jacson McGowan also had two hits in both games Friday. He has reached base safely in eight of his last 17 plate appearances over the last four games, breaking free from the 3-for-23 skid he was mired in from March 4 to 17.
Starting pitchers Tanner Andrews and Gareth Stroh both struggled with their command at times. Andrews (2-3) allowed two runs in the first inning after issuing a bases-loaded walk and hitting the next batter with a pitch. All four free passes he issued helped Lipscomb (10-13) score a run.
Stroh (3-0) walked six over five-plus innings, but pitched over leadoff walks in the top of the first and fifth. The lefty escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second inning and surrendered just four hits. He gave way to the bullpen after a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Andrews retired nine consecutive batters, recording all five of his strikeouts during that stretch, and 12 of 13 after his long first inning. But his pitch count had already hit triple digits in the top of the fifth.
Coach @Waz4412 discusses the doubleheader split vs. Lipscomb, including some of the details that were key in the game 2 win. #BoilerUp
Rubber game Saturday at 1pm ET. Or Sunday if necessary due to weather. pic.twitter.com/v5oEIzUGdW-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) March 24, 2018
Hofstra bounced back from a tough outing last weekend at Saint Louis by retiring 11 of the 13 batters he faced while surrendering just one hit. Trevor Cheaney, Dalton Parker, Cameron Williams and Ross Learnard all worked a scoreless inning in game two to help the Boilermakers close out their 6-2 win.
Purdue was unable to take advantage of Lipscomb's game one starter Joshua Colon having to leave the game after the first inning when an injury flared up again. The Boilermakers had a base runner in every inning, but Alex Dorso (4 IP), Dayton Tripp (3 IP) and Robbie Knox teamed up for eight innings of one-run relief.
Purdue had its leadoff man reach base safely four times in a five-inning span from the fourth through eighth, but could not advance the runner past second base. Of the 12 Boilermakers to reach base safely, only two made it to third -- both coming in the bottom of the second when Evan Kennedy scored on a wild pitch and Purdue stranded runners on second and third.