WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Keenan Taylor, Keenan Spence and Thomas Green all homered in a span of four batters to account for Purdue Baseball's first three-homer inning since 2021, but Illinois rode an eight-run top of the sixth to an 18-10 triumph in Saturday's regular-season finale at Alexander Field.
As the final game of the day around the Big Ten, both teams were locked into their seeding in the Big Ten Tournament early in the contest. The Fighting Illini (33-17, 18-6 Big Ten) clinched the outright conference title and No. 1 seed in the tournament when Michigan State defeated Nebraska. The road sweep in West Lafayette elevated their RPI to 43, likely putting them on the right side of the bubble for the NCAA Tournament going into the postseason.
The Boilermakers (33-22, 13-11 Big Ten) will be the No. 6 seed at the Big Ten Tournament and take on rival Indiana on Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET in the opening game of the double-elimination event. It will mark the first IU-Purdue game in the postseason since the Boilers won the 2012 Big Ten Tournament championship game.
Purdue overcame an early 4-0 deficit Saturday, taking a 6-5 lead with its three home runs in third inning. On their Senior Day, Taylor and Green hit solo shots to left Field. Taylor ignited the surge with a long ball into the bullpen. Green cleared the bullpen with a 405-foot rocket. But it was Spence's two-run homer to center field that was the most majestic. As a 445-foot bomb with an exit velocity of 113 m.p.h. off the flagpole, it ranks as one of the longest home runs in the history of Alexander Field.
The Boilermakers' last three-homer inning also came against the Illini at Alexander Field, in the bottom of the ninth of an April 2021 series opener. Spence and Green teamed up for Purdue's fourth set of back-to-back jacks this year, a total which ranks as the program's most since at least 2001. All four instances of back-to-back homers have come at Alexander and Spence has been involved in the last two.
The Boilermakers have hit 71 home runs this season, two shy of the program record. They'll also enter the Big Ten Tournament five runs shy of the team record.
Gaffney scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning as Spence and Green delivered RBI again to give the Boilermakers an 8-6 lead. But it was short lived. Illinois sent 11 men to the plate in the top of the sixth. Drake Westcott went deep twice in the frame, connecting for a leadoff homer and a grand slam his second time up. Ryan Moerman also hit a two-run blast, homering for the third game in a row.
Illinois connected for seven home runs and 15 extra-base hits in the series, registering a .573 team slugging percentage.
As the first man out of the bullpen Saturday, Carter Doorn worked a scoreless top of the third and extended his streak of consecutive scoreless innings in Big Ten play to 19 2/3 before it was finally snapped on an RBI single from Westcott in the fourth.
Davis Pratt retired five of the eight batters he faced over an inning and two-thirds of hitless relief. He helped set the stage for Purdue to regain the lead and struck out four over 2 2/3 innings of hitless relief in the series. Enas Hayden retired all four batters he faced as the last of the seven Boilermakers to take the mound.
Jo Stevens (2-for-2, BB, 2 RBI, R) and Taylor (3-for-3, HR) both reached base safely in every plate appearance in their final games at Alexander Field. Stevens delivered a two-out, two-run single in the first inning.
The Big Ten Tournament is being contested at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha. Nebraska and Ohio State are also in Purdue's half of the double-elimination bracket.
ACTIVE STREAKS
• Couper Cornblum – 12-game on-base streak; 10-game hit streak in all games; 10-game hit streak in Big Ten play; 108 consecutive games started (since start of 2023)
• Luke Gaffney – 8-game on-base streak; 7-game on-base streak in Big Ten play
As the final game of the day around the Big Ten, both teams were locked into their seeding in the Big Ten Tournament early in the contest. The Fighting Illini (33-17, 18-6 Big Ten) clinched the outright conference title and No. 1 seed in the tournament when Michigan State defeated Nebraska. The road sweep in West Lafayette elevated their RPI to 43, likely putting them on the right side of the bubble for the NCAA Tournament going into the postseason.
The Boilermakers (33-22, 13-11 Big Ten) will be the No. 6 seed at the Big Ten Tournament and take on rival Indiana on Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET in the opening game of the double-elimination event. It will mark the first IU-Purdue game in the postseason since the Boilers won the 2012 Big Ten Tournament championship game.
Purdue overcame an early 4-0 deficit Saturday, taking a 6-5 lead with its three home runs in third inning. On their Senior Day, Taylor and Green hit solo shots to left Field. Taylor ignited the surge with a long ball into the bullpen. Green cleared the bullpen with a 405-foot rocket. But it was Spence's two-run homer to center field that was the most majestic. As a 445-foot bomb with an exit velocity of 113 m.p.h. off the flagpole, it ranks as one of the longest home runs in the history of Alexander Field.
The Boilermakers' last three-homer inning also came against the Illini at Alexander Field, in the bottom of the ninth of an April 2021 series opener. Spence and Green teamed up for Purdue's fourth set of back-to-back jacks this year, a total which ranks as the program's most since at least 2001. All four instances of back-to-back homers have come at Alexander and Spence has been involved in the last two.
The Boilermakers have hit 71 home runs this season, two shy of the program record. They'll also enter the Big Ten Tournament five runs shy of the team record.
Luke Gaffney's leadoff single in the fifth inning was his team-leading 74th hit of the season, matching Cameron Perkins' Purdue freshman record from 2010. Gaffney has now tied or broke five team freshman benchmarks this season. He scored three times Saturday and has 60 runs scored for the season, moving into a tie for second place (overall) in team history. Mitch Hilligoss (62) has held the record since 2006.👀 2nd Look at a 3-Homer 3rd Inning 🚀🚀🚀@Keenan_005 x @KeenanSpence32 x @TGGreen13
— Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) May 18, 2024
Westfield 🌏 Australia 🌎 Vancouver Island pic.twitter.com/vtOBeSob7O
Gaffney scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning as Spence and Green delivered RBI again to give the Boilermakers an 8-6 lead. But it was short lived. Illinois sent 11 men to the plate in the top of the sixth. Drake Westcott went deep twice in the frame, connecting for a leadoff homer and a grand slam his second time up. Ryan Moerman also hit a two-run blast, homering for the third game in a row.
Illinois connected for seven home runs and 15 extra-base hits in the series, registering a .573 team slugging percentage.
As the first man out of the bullpen Saturday, Carter Doorn worked a scoreless top of the third and extended his streak of consecutive scoreless innings in Big Ten play to 19 2/3 before it was finally snapped on an RBI single from Westcott in the fourth.
Davis Pratt retired five of the eight batters he faced over an inning and two-thirds of hitless relief. He helped set the stage for Purdue to regain the lead and struck out four over 2 2/3 innings of hitless relief in the series. Enas Hayden retired all four batters he faced as the last of the seven Boilermakers to take the mound.
Jo Stevens (2-for-2, BB, 2 RBI, R) and Taylor (3-for-3, HR) both reached base safely in every plate appearance in their final games at Alexander Field. Stevens delivered a two-out, two-run single in the first inning.
The Big Ten Tournament is being contested at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha. Nebraska and Ohio State are also in Purdue's half of the double-elimination bracket.
ACTIVE STREAKS
• Couper Cornblum – 12-game on-base streak; 10-game hit streak in all games; 10-game hit streak in Big Ten play; 108 consecutive games started (since start of 2023)
• Luke Gaffney – 8-game on-base streak; 7-game on-base streak in Big Ten play