WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Lukas Cook posted his first collegiate four-hit game and Keenan Spence hit a 498-foot home run as Purdue Baseball scored in six of its eight innings at the plate in a 12-8 victory vs. Milwaukee on Tuesday at Alexander Field.
The Boilermakers improved to 4-0 at home and won for the eighth time in their last nine games overall. At 18-2, Purdue matched its best 20-game start in team history (2022).
Cook reached base safely in each of the first three innings and had a hit in four straight at-bats while extending his career-best hit streak to 10 consecutive games. He raised his Big Ten-leading batting average to .462.
Spence connected for what is believed to be the longest home run in Alexander Field history. He barreled up for the 498-foot bomb to lead off the sixth inning, with the ball hitting Cherry Lane beyond the left field wall on the fly and bounding into the woods north of the stadium. It was Spence's fifth homer of the season and 18th in 68 games as a Boilermaker.
The Boilermakers drew 13 free passes – seven hit by pitch and six walks. Five of those came in the first two innings as Purdue raced out to a 7-1 lead while sending 17 men to the plate. Cook's RBI double was the first of four consecutive hits in the second inning as a four-spot went up on the board.
Logan Sutter delivered an RBI single in each of the first two innings to increase his RBI total to 35. Aaron Manias also drove in a run in each of the first two frames.
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Albert Choi: 20-game on-base (as a Boilermaker)
• Brandon Anderson: 19-game on-base
• Lukas Cook: 10-game hit
• Brandon Rogers: 7-game on-base, 6-game hit
Milwaukee (3-16) did not go quietly, putting the tying run on base in the top of the eighth while loading the bases in consecutive innings. The Panthers registered five singles in the eighth inning, including four consecutive hits, before Avery Cook was able get out of the jam and ultimately finish off a six-out save, his fourth of the season.
As the first Boilermaker out of the bullpen, Michael Vallone escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning. He struck out MKE's 3-hole hitter and then induced (and started) an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play. The twin killing came off the bat of cleanup hitter Charlie Marion, who had doubled in each of his first two plate appearances. The following frame, Vallone struck out a pair to pitch over an inning-opening sun ball to RF that dropped for a double.
Starter Cole Van Assen enjoyed efficient 1-2-3 innings in the first and fourth but allowed eight base runners vs. the other 13 batters he faced. The sophomore's streak of 10 consecutive scoreless innings came to an end on a sacrifice fly in the top of the second.
Brandon Anderson reached base safely four times and came around to score in each of the first two innings. He drew a two-out bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning after the visitors had made it a three-run game with their three-spot in the top of the frame.
Albert Choi (.500), Sutter (.549), Anderson (.516) and Cook (.507) give Purdue four regulars with on-base percentages of at least .500. Anderson has 24 free passes (12 walks, 12 HBP) vs. just six strikeouts in 93 plate appearances.
The Boilermakers resume Big Ten Conference play this week when they host Michigan for weekend No. 2 of their season-long 12-game homestand. The first pitch Friday is set for 4 p.m. ET.
The Boilermakers improved to 4-0 at home and won for the eighth time in their last nine games overall. At 18-2, Purdue matched its best 20-game start in team history (2022).
Cook reached base safely in each of the first three innings and had a hit in four straight at-bats while extending his career-best hit streak to 10 consecutive games. He raised his Big Ten-leading batting average to .462.
Spence connected for what is believed to be the longest home run in Alexander Field history. He barreled up for the 498-foot bomb to lead off the sixth inning, with the ball hitting Cherry Lane beyond the left field wall on the fly and bounding into the woods north of the stadium. It was Spence's fifth homer of the season and 18th in 68 games as a Boilermaker.
The Boilermakers drew 13 free passes – seven hit by pitch and six walks. Five of those came in the first two innings as Purdue raced out to a 7-1 lead while sending 17 men to the plate. Cook's RBI double was the first of four consecutive hits in the second inning as a four-spot went up on the board.
Logan Sutter delivered an RBI single in each of the first two innings to increase his RBI total to 35. Aaron Manias also drove in a run in each of the first two frames.
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Albert Choi: 20-game on-base (as a Boilermaker)
• Brandon Anderson: 19-game on-base
• Lukas Cook: 10-game hit
• Brandon Rogers: 7-game on-base, 6-game hit
Milwaukee (3-16) did not go quietly, putting the tying run on base in the top of the eighth while loading the bases in consecutive innings. The Panthers registered five singles in the eighth inning, including four consecutive hits, before Avery Cook was able get out of the jam and ultimately finish off a six-out save, his fourth of the season.
As the first Boilermaker out of the bullpen, Michael Vallone escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning. He struck out MKE's 3-hole hitter and then induced (and started) an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play. The twin killing came off the bat of cleanup hitter Charlie Marion, who had doubled in each of his first two plate appearances. The following frame, Vallone struck out a pair to pitch over an inning-opening sun ball to RF that dropped for a double.
Starter Cole Van Assen enjoyed efficient 1-2-3 innings in the first and fourth but allowed eight base runners vs. the other 13 batters he faced. The sophomore's streak of 10 consecutive scoreless innings came to an end on a sacrifice fly in the top of the second.
Brandon Anderson reached base safely four times and came around to score in each of the first two innings. He drew a two-out bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning after the visitors had made it a three-run game with their three-spot in the top of the frame.
Albert Choi (.500), Sutter (.549), Anderson (.516) and Cook (.507) give Purdue four regulars with on-base percentages of at least .500. Anderson has 24 free passes (12 walks, 12 HBP) vs. just six strikeouts in 93 plate appearances.
The Boilermakers resume Big Ten Conference play this week when they host Michigan for weekend No. 2 of their season-long 12-game homestand. The first pitch Friday is set for 4 p.m. ET.