ROUND ROCK, Texas – Led by 10 strikeouts from starter Jett Jackson, Purdue baseball racked up 16 Ks on the mound but was unable to generate any offense for the second game in a row, losing to Nebraska 4-0 Sunday in the finale of a four-game series.
The Boilermakers enjoyed a 7-4 edge in the hit column, but had four potential rallies go by the board via two inning-ending double plays and two inning-ending strikeouts with the bases loaded.
Jackson struck out 10 of the 20 batters he faced over 4 1/3 innings of three-hit ball. He posted the first double-figure strikeout performance by a Purdue pitcher since Trent Johnson's rare 10-K relief outing in March 2019 at Northwestern. In his team debut, Nolan Daniel struck out four of the six batters he faced he faced over two hitless innings of relief.
Nebraska scored three of its four runs on home runs to left field and enjoyed a 5-0 edge in homers for the series.
Batting in the 8-hole for the Huskers, Jack Steil delivered a two-out RBI double in the second inning and a two-run homer in the top of the ninth.
The Boilermakers hit into inning-ending twin killings with two men aboard in the sixth and eighth. A Purdue hitter also struck out with the bases loaded to end the second and seventh. For the series, the Boilermakers were 4-for-30 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-4 with the bases loaded.
SUNDAY NOTABLES
• Purdue racked up 46 strikeouts over 32 innings in the series, a total believed to be a team record for a four-game set. The 16 Ks Sunday matched the third highest total in program history. In Friday's walk-off win, the Boilermakers fanned 15 batters.
• Miles Simington (5-for-11) and Zac Fascia (4-for-12) hit safely in all four games of the series. Simington reached base safely a team-high eight times for the weekend. Skyler Hunter (3-for-14, 3 BB) and Mason Gavre (2-for-11, 2 BB) also reached base safely in all four games.
• For the second time in the series Sunday, redshirt freshman Jack Firestone drew a walk as a pinch hitter late in a close game. On this day, he worked a walk in the seventh inning to give Purdue two men aboard with one out, leading to a pitching change.
• Jett Jackson has only surrendered 15 hits in 23 1/3 innings over five career appearances as a Boilermaker, all starts. Meanwhile, his 10 Ks Sunday were just three shy of his season total in 19 innings last season.
• Purdue lost a four-game series after winning the opener for the first time since April 2008 at Indiana. Admittedly, four-game series have been somewhat rare since the Big Ten went to a 24-game conference schedule, and traditional three-game weekend series, in 2009.
• The Boilermakers were shutout in consecutive games for the first time since March 2019 at Jacksonville State and Ball State. They were blanked in back-to-back contests by the same opponent for the first time since February 2017 at Arkansas-Little Rock.
Ben Nisle made his second diving catch of the series in left field, taking away a hit with a runner on second base and one out in the second inning. It potentially saved Purdue a run because Steil's RBI double and a walk followed.
Jackson struck out the side in order vs. Nebraska's 2-3-4 hitters in the third inning. He also registered three strikeouts in the following frame, but the first batter of the three reached base safely on a wild pitch.
Purdue returns to action Friday when it begins a four-game series vs. Michigan at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina. The Boilermakers and Wolverines have not played since May 2018 when they squared off four times in a stretch of five games late in the season. Purdue won all four meetings, including a walk-off victory on day 2 of the Big Ten Tournament.
The Boilermakers enjoyed a 7-4 edge in the hit column, but had four potential rallies go by the board via two inning-ending double plays and two inning-ending strikeouts with the bases loaded.
Jackson struck out 10 of the 20 batters he faced over 4 1/3 innings of three-hit ball. He posted the first double-figure strikeout performance by a Purdue pitcher since Trent Johnson's rare 10-K relief outing in March 2019 at Northwestern. In his team debut, Nolan Daniel struck out four of the six batters he faced he faced over two hitless innings of relief.
Nebraska scored three of its four runs on home runs to left field and enjoyed a 5-0 edge in homers for the series.
Batting in the 8-hole for the Huskers, Jack Steil delivered a two-out RBI double in the second inning and a two-run homer in the top of the ninth.
The Boilermakers hit into inning-ending twin killings with two men aboard in the sixth and eighth. A Purdue hitter also struck out with the bases loaded to end the second and seventh. For the series, the Boilermakers were 4-for-30 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-4 with the bases loaded.
SUNDAY NOTABLES
• Purdue racked up 46 strikeouts over 32 innings in the series, a total believed to be a team record for a four-game set. The 16 Ks Sunday matched the third highest total in program history. In Friday's walk-off win, the Boilermakers fanned 15 batters.
• Miles Simington (5-for-11) and Zac Fascia (4-for-12) hit safely in all four games of the series. Simington reached base safely a team-high eight times for the weekend. Skyler Hunter (3-for-14, 3 BB) and Mason Gavre (2-for-11, 2 BB) also reached base safely in all four games.
• For the second time in the series Sunday, redshirt freshman Jack Firestone drew a walk as a pinch hitter late in a close game. On this day, he worked a walk in the seventh inning to give Purdue two men aboard with one out, leading to a pitching change.
• Jett Jackson has only surrendered 15 hits in 23 1/3 innings over five career appearances as a Boilermaker, all starts. Meanwhile, his 10 Ks Sunday were just three shy of his season total in 19 innings last season.
• Purdue lost a four-game series after winning the opener for the first time since April 2008 at Indiana. Admittedly, four-game series have been somewhat rare since the Big Ten went to a 24-game conference schedule, and traditional three-game weekend series, in 2009.
• The Boilermakers were shutout in consecutive games for the first time since March 2019 at Jacksonville State and Ball State. They were blanked in back-to-back contests by the same opponent for the first time since February 2017 at Arkansas-Little Rock.
Ben Nisle made his second diving catch of the series in left field, taking away a hit with a runner on second base and one out in the second inning. It potentially saved Purdue a run because Steil's RBI double and a walk followed.
Jackson struck out the side in order vs. Nebraska's 2-3-4 hitters in the third inning. He also registered three strikeouts in the following frame, but the first batter of the three reached base safely on a wild pitch.
Purdue returns to action Friday when it begins a four-game series vs. Michigan at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina. The Boilermakers and Wolverines have not played since May 2018 when they squared off four times in a stretch of five games late in the season. Purdue won all four meetings, including a walk-off victory on day 2 of the Big Ten Tournament.