WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – CJ Backer struck out seven over five innings of one-hit ball and Jackson Dannelley closed the win with a seven-out save, leading Purdue baseball to a 3-2 victory vs. Ball State on Tuesday at Alexander Field.
The Boilermakers (17-18) have won their last three games all via one-run affairs. They've played in three straight one-run games for the first time since March 29-April 4, 2019 and won three consecutive games all by one run for the first time since May 2004 – the final two games of the regular season and their Big Ten Tournament opener.
Backer retired 15 of the 17 batters he faced in his finest outing of the season. His seven strikeouts were a personal season-best and just one K shy of both his career high and the season-best mark by a Purdue pitcher. He followed the lead of Kyle Iwinski in Saturday's rubber game win vs. Penn State, a victory in which Iwinski conceded just an unearned run over eight innings. Iwinski and Backer have now teamed up for a streak of 12 consecutive scoreless innings by Boilermakers starting pitchers.
Paul Toetz connected for an RBI double in the fourth inning, registering his team-leading 40th RBI of the season. By date on the calendar (April 18), he became the third-fastest Boilermaker to reach the 40-RBI benchmark.
Backer (7), Dannelley (3) and Davis Pratt (2) teamed up for 12 strikeouts, Purdue's most since racking up a season-high 15 in its final game of February. The Cardinals (23-13) scored an unearned run in both the sixth and seventh innings.
Dannelley retired seven of the eight batters he faced to earn his first save as a Boilermaker. He rolled through a 1-2-3 inning vs. Ball State's 3-4-5 hitters in the top of the eighth inning after stranding a pair of inherited runners to close out the top of the seventh. Dannelley struck out the first two batters of the ninth.
Connor Caskenette singled to lead off the second and fourth innings, extending his on-base streak to 14 consecutive games and hit streak to seven straight. He scored on Toetz's double. Toetz is riding a seven-game on-base streak in all games and six-game hit streak at Alexander Field.
Jake Parr also singled twice Tuesday, extending his hit streak to nine consecutive games. Parr scored on a wild pitch to give the Boilermakers a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth.
Jo Stevens singled twice and scored the game's first run on a two-out infield hit from Couper Cornblum in the second inning. Stevens' alert base running put him in position to score when the Ball State second baseman couldn't make the play on the slow chopper hit by Cornblum. Stevens had taken second on a pitch in the dirt and moved into third on a ground out to shortstop.
The Boilermakers won for just the second time this season when scoring three runs or fewer. But both of those wins have come in the last eight games. They also won a 4-3 game Saturday vs. Penn State.
Purdue concludes its six-game homestand Wednesday vs. Butler. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. ET.
The Boilermakers (17-18) have won their last three games all via one-run affairs. They've played in three straight one-run games for the first time since March 29-April 4, 2019 and won three consecutive games all by one run for the first time since May 2004 – the final two games of the regular season and their Big Ten Tournament opener.
Backer retired 15 of the 17 batters he faced in his finest outing of the season. His seven strikeouts were a personal season-best and just one K shy of both his career high and the season-best mark by a Purdue pitcher. He followed the lead of Kyle Iwinski in Saturday's rubber game win vs. Penn State, a victory in which Iwinski conceded just an unearned run over eight innings. Iwinski and Backer have now teamed up for a streak of 12 consecutive scoreless innings by Boilermakers starting pitchers.
Paul Toetz connected for an RBI double in the fourth inning, registering his team-leading 40th RBI of the season. By date on the calendar (April 18), he became the third-fastest Boilermaker to reach the 40-RBI benchmark.
Backer (7), Dannelley (3) and Davis Pratt (2) teamed up for 12 strikeouts, Purdue's most since racking up a season-high 15 in its final game of February. The Cardinals (23-13) scored an unearned run in both the sixth and seventh innings.
Dannelley retired seven of the eight batters he faced to earn his first save as a Boilermaker. He rolled through a 1-2-3 inning vs. Ball State's 3-4-5 hitters in the top of the eighth inning after stranding a pair of inherited runners to close out the top of the seventh. Dannelley struck out the first two batters of the ninth.
Connor Caskenette singled to lead off the second and fourth innings, extending his on-base streak to 14 consecutive games and hit streak to seven straight. He scored on Toetz's double. Toetz is riding a seven-game on-base streak in all games and six-game hit streak at Alexander Field.
Jake Parr also singled twice Tuesday, extending his hit streak to nine consecutive games. Parr scored on a wild pitch to give the Boilermakers a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth.
Jo Stevens singled twice and scored the game's first run on a two-out infield hit from Couper Cornblum in the second inning. Stevens' alert base running put him in position to score when the Ball State second baseman couldn't make the play on the slow chopper hit by Cornblum. Stevens had taken second on a pitch in the dirt and moved into third on a ground out to shortstop.
The Boilermakers won for just the second time this season when scoring three runs or fewer. But both of those wins have come in the last eight games. They also won a 4-3 game Saturday vs. Penn State.
Purdue concludes its six-game homestand Wednesday vs. Butler. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. ET.