WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Five doubles powered a spurt of eight unanswered runs as Purdue baseball responded to an early four-run deficit, rallying for a 10-7 victory vs. South Dakota State in Friday's series opener at Alexander Field.
Khal Stephen matched his career high with eight strikeouts over eight innings, his longest outing as a Boilermaker. He pounded the zone to the tune of 85 strikes on his season-high 115 pitches (74%). The sophomore earned his seventh win of the season, the most by a Purdue pitcher since Tanner Andrews in 2018. He also matched Kyle Iwinski for the longest outing of the season by a Boilermaker.
Stephen (7-2) is a big reason why Purdue (22-22) is now 6-1 on Fridays since March 24. The Boilermakers have won three consecutive series openers twice during that stretch, with Stephen starting all seven games.
Couper Cornblum's leadoff double ignited a five-run fourth inning as Purdue took a lead it would not relinquish. Jake Parr connected for a two-run double with the bases loaded to put the Boilermakers on the board and chase SDSU's starting pitcher.
The following frame, Connor Caskenette and Parr delivered consecutive RBI doubles and Cam Thompson joined in on the fun with a two-out RBI double as the Boilermakers opened up an 8-4 lead.
NOTABLE STREAKS EXTENDED FRIDAY
• Connor Caskenette – 22-game on-base streak; 15-game hit streak; 14-game hit streak at Alexander
• Jake Parr – 18-game on-base streak; 12-game on-base streak at Alexander
• Paul Toetz – 16-game on-base streak; 12-game on-base streak at Alexander
• Couper Cornblum – 11-game hit streak, 8-game hit streak at Alexander
• Khal Stephen – Pitched at least five innings for the seventh consecutive start, surrendered five hits or fewer for the fifth consecutive start
Parr finished the night 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and three RBI. He now leads the team with a .349 batting average, thanks in part to a .438 clip at home. Jake Jarvis walked three times and scored twice, improving his on-base percentage to .434 to match Parr's figure. CJ Valdez delivered a pair of RBI singles, both into right field. Cornblum and Thompson also had a pair of hits.
Caskenette has matched Zac Fascia (2019-21), a fellow Canadian catcher, for the longest hit streak by a Boilermaker since 2012.
Stephen surrendered four unearned runs in the third inning after his own error on a sacrifice bunt gave South Dakota State (18-21) an extra out to work with. But after surrendering a three-run homer to SDSU's No. 3 hitter Dawson Parr, Stephen responded by retiring 10 of the next 11 batters. He rolled through five 1-2-3 innings, including going through the Jackrabbits' 3-4-5 hitters in order in his final frame.
The Boilermakers scored five-plus runs in an inning for the 10th time this season. Five of those big innings have come in the 17 games at Alexander Field.
The four-game series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
Khal Stephen matched his career high with eight strikeouts over eight innings, his longest outing as a Boilermaker. He pounded the zone to the tune of 85 strikes on his season-high 115 pitches (74%). The sophomore earned his seventh win of the season, the most by a Purdue pitcher since Tanner Andrews in 2018. He also matched Kyle Iwinski for the longest outing of the season by a Boilermaker.
Stephen (7-2) is a big reason why Purdue (22-22) is now 6-1 on Fridays since March 24. The Boilermakers have won three consecutive series openers twice during that stretch, with Stephen starting all seven games.
Couper Cornblum's leadoff double ignited a five-run fourth inning as Purdue took a lead it would not relinquish. Jake Parr connected for a two-run double with the bases loaded to put the Boilermakers on the board and chase SDSU's starting pitcher.
The following frame, Connor Caskenette and Parr delivered consecutive RBI doubles and Cam Thompson joined in on the fun with a two-out RBI double as the Boilermakers opened up an 8-4 lead.
NOTABLE STREAKS EXTENDED FRIDAY
• Connor Caskenette – 22-game on-base streak; 15-game hit streak; 14-game hit streak at Alexander
• Jake Parr – 18-game on-base streak; 12-game on-base streak at Alexander
• Paul Toetz – 16-game on-base streak; 12-game on-base streak at Alexander
• Couper Cornblum – 11-game hit streak, 8-game hit streak at Alexander
• Khal Stephen – Pitched at least five innings for the seventh consecutive start, surrendered five hits or fewer for the fifth consecutive start
Parr finished the night 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and three RBI. He now leads the team with a .349 batting average, thanks in part to a .438 clip at home. Jake Jarvis walked three times and scored twice, improving his on-base percentage to .434 to match Parr's figure. CJ Valdez delivered a pair of RBI singles, both into right field. Cornblum and Thompson also had a pair of hits.
Caskenette has matched Zac Fascia (2019-21), a fellow Canadian catcher, for the longest hit streak by a Boilermaker since 2012.
Stephen surrendered four unearned runs in the third inning after his own error on a sacrifice bunt gave South Dakota State (18-21) an extra out to work with. But after surrendering a three-run homer to SDSU's No. 3 hitter Dawson Parr, Stephen responded by retiring 10 of the next 11 batters. He rolled through five 1-2-3 innings, including going through the Jackrabbits' 3-4-5 hitters in order in his final frame.
The Boilermakers scored five-plus runs in an inning for the 10th time this season. Five of those big innings have come in the 17 games at Alexander Field.
The four-game series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.