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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Purdue baseball rallied back from an early 3-0 deficit and had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the eighth, but Indiana State turned a key inning-ending double play and closed out the 4-3 final.
Three straight singles from the 7-8-9 portion of the ISU lineup in the sixth inning led to the game-deciding run. The Boilermakers (3-12) had tied the game on a balk with a man at third base in the top half of the frame.
Singles by Tyler Powers and Cole McKenzie along with a walk to Skyler Hunter loaded the bases with one out in the eighth inning. The Sycamores (13-1) brought in Tyler Grauer to set up a lefty-lefty matchup with Zac Fasica. Grauer induced the ground ball he was hoping for, with the chopper near the second base bag leading to an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
The Boilermakers (3-12) came to life offensively in the fifth inning after ISU starter Geremy Guerreo retired the first 14 batters of the game in order. Johnny Sage and Seth Gergely finally got to Guerrero with back-to-back hits on 0-2 counts. Sage tripled to right center and scored on Gergely's first collegiate hit, an RBI single to left field.
McKenzie put together the at-bat of the game in the sixth inning as the first man to face Austin Cross. With runners on second and third, he battled back from an 0-2 count to elevate the ball into center field. Evan Albrecht scored easily on the sacrifice fly and Hunter also moved into third base. Hunter's hustle double to left center after the leadoff walk to Albrecht fueled the rally.
After his balk allowed the tying run to score, Cross responded by retiring all six batters he faced. He recorded three strikeouts and induced two comebackers.
The bottom four hitters in the ISU lineup were a combined 8-for-15 with three RBI. Max Wright delivered a two-out, two-run double off the wall in left field in the third inning. From the nine-hole, Luke Fegen's third hit of the plated the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.
Albrecht helped turn a pair of double plays at shortstop, but his error in the first inning also helped ISU score the game's first run without the luxury of a hit.
Austin Peterson (3 IP) and Trent Johnson teamed up for four innings of one-run relief. Peterson's 1-2-3 inning vs. ISU's 3-4-5 hitters in the bottom of the fifth was the Boilermakers' only true 1-2-3 frame.
Starter Bo Hofstra got a big out to finish off the bottom of the first, limiting the damage done by the home team while escaping a bases-loaded jam.
McKenzie extended his reached base safely streak to nine consecutive games with his infield single in his final at-bat. Powers has been on base in seven straight games.
The Boilermakers are back in action Friday for a 7 p.m. ET first pitch at Jacksonville State. The JSU series is Purdue's final weekend of the pre-conference slate.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Purdue baseball rallied back from an early 3-0 deficit and had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the eighth, but Indiana State turned a key inning-ending double play and closed out the 4-3 final.
Three straight singles from the 7-8-9 portion of the ISU lineup in the sixth inning led to the game-deciding run. The Boilermakers (3-12) had tied the game on a balk with a man at third base in the top half of the frame.
Singles by Tyler Powers and Cole McKenzie along with a walk to Skyler Hunter loaded the bases with one out in the eighth inning. The Sycamores (13-1) brought in Tyler Grauer to set up a lefty-lefty matchup with Zac Fasica. Grauer induced the ground ball he was hoping for, with the chopper near the second base bag leading to an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
The Boilermakers (3-12) came to life offensively in the fifth inning after ISU starter Geremy Guerreo retired the first 14 batters of the game in order. Johnny Sage and Seth Gergely finally got to Guerrero with back-to-back hits on 0-2 counts. Sage tripled to right center and scored on Gergely's first collegiate hit, an RBI single to left field.
McKenzie put together the at-bat of the game in the sixth inning as the first man to face Austin Cross. With runners on second and third, he battled back from an 0-2 count to elevate the ball into center field. Evan Albrecht scored easily on the sacrifice fly and Hunter also moved into third base. Hunter's hustle double to left center after the leadoff walk to Albrecht fueled the rally.
After his balk allowed the tying run to score, Cross responded by retiring all six batters he faced. He recorded three strikeouts and induced two comebackers.
The bottom four hitters in the ISU lineup were a combined 8-for-15 with three RBI. Max Wright delivered a two-out, two-run double off the wall in left field in the third inning. From the nine-hole, Luke Fegen's third hit of the plated the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.
Albrecht helped turn a pair of double plays at shortstop, but his error in the first inning also helped ISU score the game's first run without the luxury of a hit.
Austin Peterson (3 IP) and Trent Johnson teamed up for four innings of one-run relief. Peterson's 1-2-3 inning vs. ISU's 3-4-5 hitters in the bottom of the fifth was the Boilermakers' only true 1-2-3 frame.
Starter Bo Hofstra got a big out to finish off the bottom of the first, limiting the damage done by the home team while escaping a bases-loaded jam.
McKenzie extended his reached base safely streak to nine consecutive games with his infield single in his final at-bat. Powers has been on base in seven straight games.
The Boilermakers are back in action Friday for a 7 p.m. ET first pitch at Jacksonville State. The JSU series is Purdue's final weekend of the pre-conference slate.