Purdue Survives Slugfest to Split, Take Series vs. IUPurdue Survives Slugfest to Split, Take Series vs. IU

Purdue Survives Slugfest to Split, Take Series vs. IU

<br /><br />In a game in which both teams registered nine unanswered runs, Purdue baseball scored four times with two outs in the sixth inning to steal the momentum back and then survived a bases-loaded jam in the top of the ninth to outlast Indiana 16-15 in the nightcap of a Sunday doubleheader and rubber game of the series at Alexander Field.

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – In a game in which both teams registered nine unanswered runs, Purdue baseball scored four times with two outs in the sixth inning to steal the momentum back and then survived a bases-loaded jam in the top of the ninth to outlast Indiana 16-15 in the nightcap of a Sunday doubleheader and rubber game of the series at Alexander Field.

The Hoosiers (12-18, 2-4 B1G) won game 1 Sunday 10-3 and held leads of 3-0 and 14-12 in the nightcap. But the Boilermakers (21-7, 3-4 B1G) got off the deck to win their sixth straight home series vs. their rivals dating back to 2004. Since 2007, Purdue is 17-5 vs. IU away from Bloomington.

The rubber game of the weekend marked the third-highest scoring affair in the 135-year history of the rivalry series.

There were 108 total runs scored in the five games at Alexander Field this week, easily the highest-scoring five-game stretch in the 10-year history of the ballpark. The Boilermakers' victories on Tuesday and Sunday both featured a combined 31 runs as the highest-scoring games ever at Alexander. Purdue scored 17, 17 and 16 runs in its three wins.

With the bases loaded, Griffin Lohman battled back from a 2-0 count to strike out IU's Carter Mathison looking to end the nightcap. Eric Hildebrand (2-0) gave Purdue nine big outs late in the game, highlighted by a stretch in which he retired nine of 11 batters faced after surrendering a go-ahead three-run homer.

Evan Albrecht's two-out walk ignited the four-run rally that turned a two-run deficit into a two-run lead for the Boilermakers. Mike Bolton Jr. delivered the game-tying single and Curtis Washington Jr. followed with a two-run single to put the home team ahead for good. Purdue's lightning and lightning combination at the top of the lineup was a combined 5-for-7 with four walks and six runs scored in the nightcap.

Cam Thompson (28 games), CJ Valdez (25), Evan Albrecht (20) and Washington (16) all extended their on-base streaks. Troy Viola homered in the nightcap and is now riding a seven-game hit streak and nine-game on-base streak.

#4favs from @PurdueBaseball vs IU - game 1 of 2 today. pic.twitter.com/65Ui3SJa7h

— Krock Photography (@KrockPhoto) April 10, 2022
Thompson hit his 10th home run of the season, a three-run blast in the first inning, to quickly pull the Boilermakers even after IU rode the momentum of its game 1 win to an early 3-0 lead. He finished the day with five RBI, pushing his Big Ten-leading total for the season to 44. Thompson's historic notables included becoming…
 
The first Boilermaker in the last 20 years to homer in six consecutive weekends
The first Boilermaker in the last 20 years to register his 40th RBI by April 10
The third Boilermaker in the last 20 years to hit his 10th home run by April 10
The fifth Boilermaker in the last 20 years to hit his 10th home run before May 1
The sixth Boilermaker in the last 20 years to register his 40th RBI before May 1

Paul Toetz doubled and tripled while driving in three runs vs. his former team in Purdue's victory Sunday. Toetz finished the day 4-for-9 with four RBI.

The Boilermakers scored twice in the first inning of game 1 Sunday as part of a nine-run showing in the first inning over the course of the weekend. But Indiana took control of the contest with consecutive three-run frames while putting up seven unanswered tallies. Purdue out hit IU 11-10 but was held without an extra-base hit for the first time this season.

The finale of the Boilermakers' six-game homestand set for Tuesday vs. Purdue Fort Wayne has been postponed. The IU series was originally moved to a Saturday-Sunday-Monday format (before a doubleheader was agreed upon) and Purdue is scheduled to depart on its Penn State road trip before daybreak Wednesday morning. The Penn State series is set for a Thursday-Friday-Saturday schedule and opens Thursday with a 6 p.m. ET first pitch. The Boilermakers have not visited Central Pennsylvania since March 2018.

Hear from coach Greg Goff after #Purdue rallied back from multiple deficits & found away to close out a rubber game win for a big series victory vs IU. #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/dA3ZtiVpVQ

— Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) April 11, 2022