BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Purdue baseball held the lead for the first seven innings in a series-opening pitcher's duel, but Indiana scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to steal a 2-1 final Friday.
Trent Johnson struck out six over six shutout innings of two-hit ball. He needed only 10 pitches to strike out the side in order in the first inning. It was the finest outing of the young season by a Boilermaker.
Purdue (1-8) loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning but was unable to come up with the clutch hit that could have produced a big inning. Kyle LaPlante was hit by a pitch to force in a run, which stood as the difference in the game until the eighth inning.
Dating back to 2016, seven of the last nine IU-Purdue games in Bloomington have been one-run or extra-inning affairs. The Hoosiers (8-1) have won six of those seven close games.
Grant Richardson's leadoff single in the eighth inning ignited the game-deciding rally. He scored from first base on Paul Toetz's double down the left field line. Purdue was utilizing a no-doubles defense with its corner infielders guarding the lines, but Toetz was still able to squeeze the bouncer past LaPlante at third.
Purdue made a pitching change with a 2-2 count on Hunter Jessee, setting up a lefty-lefty matchup as Jackson Smeltz replaced Cory Brooks. Smeltz retired Jessee on a pop up to left field, but Jacob Southern followed with a bloop single into short right field that plated Toetz from second base as the go-ahead run.
Pinch hitter Jeremy Schork and Justin Walker Jr. drew consecutive two-out walks in the ninth inning to extend the game and put the tying run in scoring position. But IU closer Matt Litwicki regrouped for a game-ending strikeout. The Hoosiers racked up 15 Ks Friday, including a career-high 12 from starter Tommy Sommer. Indiana had at least two strikeouts in five different innings.
After loading the bases in the first inning, Purdue did not have multiple base runners in an inning again until the top of the seventh when Cam Thompson was hit by a pitch and Skyler Hunter drew his second walk of the game.
The series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
FRIDAY NOTABLES
• Skyler Hunter extended his reached base safely streak in Big Ten play to 15 consecutive games dating back to May 2019. He also made a catch on the warning track in center field before crashing into the fence for the first out of the sixth inning. It was at least Hunter's third such highlight-reel catch in deep center field in eight career games at IU's Bart Kaufman Field.
• Miles Simington's nine-game hit streak came to an end. But his first-inning walk put him on base safely in every game this season and 10 consecutive contests dating back to the finale of the abbreviated 2020 campaign.
• Evan Albrecht and Mason Gavre made strong inning-ending defensive plays on the right side of the infield to end the fifth and sixth innings.
• Trent Johnson threw a combined 50 pitches over the second and third innings, but he responded by retiring nine of the final 11 batters he faced to be able to make it through six innings without allowing a run. It was the senior's fifth career start of at least five scoreless innings.
• Neither team put the ball in play in the first inning as Tommy Sommer and Johnson both struck out the side.
• Steve Ramirez and Ben Nisle singled off Sommmer for Purdue's only hits of the game. Otherwise, Sommer retired 18 of 20 batters from the first through sixth innings. Ten of those outs came via Ks. After walking three straight batters to begin the game, Sommer didn't issue another walk until Hunter in the seventh as the final batter the lefty faced.
Trent Johnson struck out six over six shutout innings of two-hit ball. He needed only 10 pitches to strike out the side in order in the first inning. It was the finest outing of the young season by a Boilermaker.
Purdue (1-8) loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning but was unable to come up with the clutch hit that could have produced a big inning. Kyle LaPlante was hit by a pitch to force in a run, which stood as the difference in the game until the eighth inning.
Dating back to 2016, seven of the last nine IU-Purdue games in Bloomington have been one-run or extra-inning affairs. The Hoosiers (8-1) have won six of those seven close games.
Grant Richardson's leadoff single in the eighth inning ignited the game-deciding rally. He scored from first base on Paul Toetz's double down the left field line. Purdue was utilizing a no-doubles defense with its corner infielders guarding the lines, but Toetz was still able to squeeze the bouncer past LaPlante at third.
Purdue made a pitching change with a 2-2 count on Hunter Jessee, setting up a lefty-lefty matchup as Jackson Smeltz replaced Cory Brooks. Smeltz retired Jessee on a pop up to left field, but Jacob Southern followed with a bloop single into short right field that plated Toetz from second base as the go-ahead run.
Pinch hitter Jeremy Schork and Justin Walker Jr. drew consecutive two-out walks in the ninth inning to extend the game and put the tying run in scoring position. But IU closer Matt Litwicki regrouped for a game-ending strikeout. The Hoosiers racked up 15 Ks Friday, including a career-high 12 from starter Tommy Sommer. Indiana had at least two strikeouts in five different innings.
After loading the bases in the first inning, Purdue did not have multiple base runners in an inning again until the top of the seventh when Cam Thompson was hit by a pitch and Skyler Hunter drew his second walk of the game.
The series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
FRIDAY NOTABLES
• Skyler Hunter extended his reached base safely streak in Big Ten play to 15 consecutive games dating back to May 2019. He also made a catch on the warning track in center field before crashing into the fence for the first out of the sixth inning. It was at least Hunter's third such highlight-reel catch in deep center field in eight career games at IU's Bart Kaufman Field.
• Miles Simington's nine-game hit streak came to an end. But his first-inning walk put him on base safely in every game this season and 10 consecutive contests dating back to the finale of the abbreviated 2020 campaign.
• Evan Albrecht and Mason Gavre made strong inning-ending defensive plays on the right side of the infield to end the fifth and sixth innings.
• Trent Johnson threw a combined 50 pitches over the second and third innings, but he responded by retiring nine of the final 11 batters he faced to be able to make it through six innings without allowing a run. It was the senior's fifth career start of at least five scoreless innings.
• Neither team put the ball in play in the first inning as Tommy Sommer and Johnson both struck out the side.
• Steve Ramirez and Ben Nisle singled off Sommmer for Purdue's only hits of the game. Otherwise, Sommer retired 18 of 20 batters from the first through sixth innings. Ten of those outs came via Ks. After walking three straight batters to begin the game, Sommer didn't issue another walk until Hunter in the seventh as the final batter the lefty faced.