BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana produced a pair of three-run innings with a 14-hit attack, pulling away from Purdue baseball for a 9-4 victory in Sunday's rubber game of the rivalry series.
The Hoosiers (9-2) essentially sealed the win in the sixth inning. In the top of the frame, the Boilermakers (2-9) loaded the bases with no outs but settled for only one run, which scored on a 4-6-3 double play. That cut the IU lead to 5-4, but the home team got the run back in the bottom half and Purdue did not have another base runner the rest of the day.
Tyler Powers reached base safely three times for the second day in a row. After not playing Friday, he finished the series 5-for-8 with a double, hit by pitch and run scored. Powers was on base in each of the three innings in which the Boilermakers scored Sunday.
Ricky Castro retired nine of 11 batters faced over three innings of one-hit relief in his finest out as a Purdue pitcher. He was the first man out of the bullpen Sunday and helped set the stage for the Boilermakers to trim their 5-2 deficit. Castro struck out three and did not walk a batter.
Starter Jett Jackson (0-2) struck out five of the 15 batters he faced and now has 20 Ks in 9 2/3 innings this season. But after a 1-2-3 bottom of the first, he allowed eight of the final 12 men he faced to reach base safely. Purdue went to the bullpen after IU had gone ahead 4-2 with one out in the third inning.
Mike Bolton Jr.'s ground-rule RBI double with two outs in the fourth inning was the lone hit of the day from the first four men in the Boilermakers' lineup. And even that big hit had some bad luck attached. Powers likely would have scored from first base, but the ball bounced over the short wall in left field and into the IU bullpen. Powers was stranded at third.
Justin Walker Jr. delivered his first RBI as a Boilermaker with a single in the second inning to make it 2-0. Walker came up in another big spot in the top of the sixth, but his hard hit ball to second base led to the run-scoring twin killing.
The home team has won each of the last six Indiana-Purdue weekend series dating back to 2011. Four of those six series have been played in Bloomington.
The Boilermakers return to action Friday when they host Rutgers for the 4 p.m. ET home opener at Alexander Field.
SUNDAY NOTABLES
• Purdue pitchers racked up 12 strikeouts, registering their fifth double-figure total of the season in 11 games.
• Skyler Hunter walked and singled in his first two plate appearances to extend his reached base safely streak in Big Ten play to 17 consecutive games dating back to May 2019. He finished the series with five walks and five runs scored, both team highs. For the season, he has 12 walks, eight more than any teammate.
• Streaks ended for both of Purdue's most consistent hitters early this season. Miles Simington's 11-game reached base safely streak came to an end and Ben Nisle's six-game hit streak was also snuffed out.
• Mike Bolton Jr. batted leadoff for the first time as a Boilermaker. It marked the first time since May 16, 2019, that someone other than Hunter was Purdue's leadoff man.
• The Boilermakers remain hitless (0-for-15) for the season with the bases loaded. They were 0-for-7 this weekend.
• Two-out hits were also a difference in the series – Indiana had 10, Purdue only three.
The Hoosiers (9-2) essentially sealed the win in the sixth inning. In the top of the frame, the Boilermakers (2-9) loaded the bases with no outs but settled for only one run, which scored on a 4-6-3 double play. That cut the IU lead to 5-4, but the home team got the run back in the bottom half and Purdue did not have another base runner the rest of the day.
Tyler Powers reached base safely three times for the second day in a row. After not playing Friday, he finished the series 5-for-8 with a double, hit by pitch and run scored. Powers was on base in each of the three innings in which the Boilermakers scored Sunday.
Ricky Castro retired nine of 11 batters faced over three innings of one-hit relief in his finest out as a Purdue pitcher. He was the first man out of the bullpen Sunday and helped set the stage for the Boilermakers to trim their 5-2 deficit. Castro struck out three and did not walk a batter.
Starter Jett Jackson (0-2) struck out five of the 15 batters he faced and now has 20 Ks in 9 2/3 innings this season. But after a 1-2-3 bottom of the first, he allowed eight of the final 12 men he faced to reach base safely. Purdue went to the bullpen after IU had gone ahead 4-2 with one out in the third inning.
Mike Bolton Jr.'s ground-rule RBI double with two outs in the fourth inning was the lone hit of the day from the first four men in the Boilermakers' lineup. And even that big hit had some bad luck attached. Powers likely would have scored from first base, but the ball bounced over the short wall in left field and into the IU bullpen. Powers was stranded at third.
Justin Walker Jr. delivered his first RBI as a Boilermaker with a single in the second inning to make it 2-0. Walker came up in another big spot in the top of the sixth, but his hard hit ball to second base led to the run-scoring twin killing.
The home team has won each of the last six Indiana-Purdue weekend series dating back to 2011. Four of those six series have been played in Bloomington.
The Boilermakers return to action Friday when they host Rutgers for the 4 p.m. ET home opener at Alexander Field.
SUNDAY NOTABLES
• Purdue pitchers racked up 12 strikeouts, registering their fifth double-figure total of the season in 11 games.
• Skyler Hunter walked and singled in his first two plate appearances to extend his reached base safely streak in Big Ten play to 17 consecutive games dating back to May 2019. He finished the series with five walks and five runs scored, both team highs. For the season, he has 12 walks, eight more than any teammate.
• Streaks ended for both of Purdue's most consistent hitters early this season. Miles Simington's 11-game reached base safely streak came to an end and Ben Nisle's six-game hit streak was also snuffed out.
• Mike Bolton Jr. batted leadoff for the first time as a Boilermaker. It marked the first time since May 16, 2019, that someone other than Hunter was Purdue's leadoff man.
• The Boilermakers remain hitless (0-for-15) for the season with the bases loaded. They were 0-for-7 this weekend.
• Two-out hits were also a difference in the series – Indiana had 10, Purdue only three.