WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Tanner Andrews shined on the mound in his final career outing at Alexander Field, working 7 1/3 shutout innings to lead Purdue baseball to a 3-0 win vs. No. 17 Michigan in the series opener Thursday.
The Boilermakers' 11th consecutive home win allowed them to pull even with the Wolverines in second place in the Big Ten standings. Minnesota (17-4 B1G) clinched at least a share of the conference title with its win Thursday at Rutgers.
Purdue (32-18, 15-6 B1G) joined Stanford as the only teams to shut out Michigan (32-17, 15-6 B1G) this season. The Boilermakers' fourth shutout win of the year was their third in Big Ten play. However, it was their first in a series opener since Andrews helped blank Iowa 2-0 in the 2017 conference opener in Iowa City.
Ross Learnard retired four of the five batters he faced to close out the victory, earning his 13th save to match Andy Helmer's single-season program record from 2000.
Harry Shipley was 3-for-3 with a sac fly and a run scored. Nick Dalesandro threw out a pair of base stealers, including one from his knees, and delivered an RBI single in the seventh inning. Ben Nisle drove in the Boilermakers' first run, coming through with a timely two-out RBI single in the bottom of the first.
Andrews received a standing ovation and had the honor of coming back out for a curtain call after leaving the game in the eighth inning. He struck out the last batter he faced in his final home start. The senior fanned five total while scattering six singles over 7 1/3 innings. He did not issue a walk until the sixth inning. Purdue played flawless defense behind their ace.
Andrews helped lead the Boilermakers to a 6-2 record in Big Ten series openers this season and an 11-5 mark as an upperclassman.
Tanner Andrews acknowledged that leaving the mound Thursday to a big round of applause was one of the most special moments of his life. He & Coach Waz discuss #Purdue's 3-0 win vs. Michigan. #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/wz02WFIQlr
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) May 18, 2018
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Purdue is projected to rise to No. 42 or 44 in the RPI with Thursday's win. One more victory this weekend would lock up at least second place in the Big Ten and the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Boilermakers are now one of four teams nationally with an active home win streak of at least 11 games. It also matches the second-longest single-season home win streak in program history.
Purdue ended a seven-game losing streak to Michigan that dated back to the finale of a 2014 series at Alexander Field.
EXTENDED STREAKS
Shipley reached base safely in his 20th consecutive home game dating back to last season.
Dalesandro hit safely in his 14th consecutive home game, reaching base for the 17th straight game at home.
Skyler Hunter's double in the fifth inning extended his reached base safely streak to 18 consecutive games.
Nisle hit safely in his ninth consecutive game and reached base safely in his 12th straight games.
Alec Olund's leadoff single in the second inning extended his hit streak to nine consecutive games.
Full highlights from #Purdue's 3-0 win vs. Michigan in front of a big crowd Thursday at Alexander. Led by Tanner Andrews, #Boilers won 6 of their 8 series openers in Big Ten play this year.
Game 2 Friday at 7pm ET. #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/kDmoM2jjqv-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) May 18, 2018
The sixth inning was the only frame in which Andrews allowed multiple batters to reach base. But he struck out the Wolverines' No. 2 and 4 hitters for the first two outs of the frame. He came back from a 3-0 count to strike out cleanup hitter Jesse Franklin looking. Head coach Mark Wasikowski called it the biggest out of the contest after the game.
After striking out just one batter over the first five innings, Andrews fanned four of the final nine batters he faced. Dalesandro erased a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh by cutting down Christian Bullock at second base. Bullock was 18 of 22 on stolen base attempts entering the night. Dalesandro has thrown out a league-high 20 base stealers this season.
Leadoff singles by Shipley and Olund in the first two innings helped Purdue plate a pair of early runs before Michigan starter Tommy Henry settled in. An error in the top of the first allowed Nisle to come to the plate and the freshman delivered a hit in his first at-bat for the fifth game in a row. He has a team-high 13 RBI over the last nine games.
Shipley delivered a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and no outs the following frame after Tyler Powers drew a walk while initially trying to execute a sacrifice bunt.
Shipley and Dalesandro singled back-to-back in the seventh inning and the Boilermakers tacked on an insurance run after the Michigan outfielders committed errors on both hits.
Learnard induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play with the first pitch he threw after replacing Andrews in the top of the eighth. Third baseman Evan Warden made two nice defensive plays in the ninth to help Learnard close out the win.
Game 2 of the series is slated for Friday at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised live by the Big Ten Network.