HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. – Breck Nowik's grand slam headlined a stretch of 11 consecutive Boilermakers reaching base safely to begin the game as Purdue Baseball scored eight times in the first inning and rolled to a 14-4 victory vs. Akron on Sunday.
The Boilermakers (11-1) posted their second run-rule victory of the series and finished their eight-game stretch at Ting Stadium with a 7-1 record. They also responded to their first loss of the season Saturday night with a fast start offensively and seven zeros from the pitching staff.
Nowik barreled up for a blast off the videoboard as the eighth batter of the first inning. It was Purdue's second grand slam in as many weekends after Brandon Anderson hit one Feb. 22 vs. Niagara. Anderson, Sergio DeCello and Avery Moore had all delivered RBI singles in front of Nowik on Sunday.
The bottom of the first Sunday marked the second time in Holly Springs this season Purdue posted an eight-run inning. The lineup also erupted for a 10-run inning Saturday and scored five or more runs in a frame five times over the eight games at Ting Stadium.
But the more encouraging sign on the final day of a four-game series was the seven scoreless innnigs from the pitching staff. Akron (4-8) scored all four of its runs in the second inning. Chris Gallagher proved to be bulk innings reliever, working three hitless frames while posting zeros in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
In his second appearance of the series, Michael Vallone helped stabilize the circumstances for the Boilermakers. He won a lefty-lefty matchup vs. Jack Poist, Akron's top hitter who had hit for cycle Saturday night, to end the top of the second inning with runners on second and third.
Vallone gave up a double the following frame but center fielder Albert Choi and shortstop Lukas Cook teamed up to cut down a base runner on an extra-base hit for the second day in a row. From short right center, Cook easily threw out Blake Bowen at the plate trying to score from first base with no outs in the inning. The man who hit the gapper, Max Bowman, reached third on a ground out in the inning, but Akron did not have another runner advance past second base for the remainder of the game.
Choi had an eventful day as Purdue's leadoff man despite not putting the ball in play in any of his five plate appearances. He was hit by a pitch three times, including twice in the first inning, and had already scored three times by the fourth inning. He was on base 12 times in the series (4 hits, 4 walks, 4 HBP), scored a team-high seven runs and was credited with a pair of outfield assists.
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Logan Sutter – 14-game on-base (since May 21, 2024)
• Albert Choi – 12-game on-base
• Brandon Anderson – 11-game on-base, 10-game hit, 10-game run scored
• Avery Moore – 9-game on-base
Austin Klug and Amir Gray made their Purdue debuts in the seventh inning Sunday. Completing his comeback from an injury that sidelined him for much of the fall and kept him off the travel roster for the first weekend of the season, Klug struck out a pair while retiring three of four vs. the top of the lineup. In the bottom of the frame, Gray connected for a pinch-hit single in his first collegiate at-bat.
The Boilermakers' 11-1 start remains the program's best since the 2022 team opened its season 15-0. A step up in competition begins this coming week as midweek play opens Tuesday at Indiana State and Big Ten play starts as early as ever (excluding 2021) with a weekend series at Minnesota – inside U.S. Bank Stadium. Purdue will bat first as the visiting team for the first time this season. First pitch Tuesday in Terre Haute is set for 4 p.m. ET.
The Boilermakers (11-1) posted their second run-rule victory of the series and finished their eight-game stretch at Ting Stadium with a 7-1 record. They also responded to their first loss of the season Saturday night with a fast start offensively and seven zeros from the pitching staff.
Nowik barreled up for a blast off the videoboard as the eighth batter of the first inning. It was Purdue's second grand slam in as many weekends after Brandon Anderson hit one Feb. 22 vs. Niagara. Anderson, Sergio DeCello and Avery Moore had all delivered RBI singles in front of Nowik on Sunday.
| PURDUE LEADERS | |
| SUNDAY • Breck Nowik: Grand Slam, 4 RBI, BB • Lukas Cook: 3-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 R • Aaron Manias: 2-for-3, HBP, 2 R • Keenan Spence: 2-for-3, 2B, BB, R • Albert Choi: 3 HBP, BB, 3 R • Chris Gallagher: Win, 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB |
SERIES • Logan Sutter: 9-for-16, 3 2B, HR, 11 RBI, 2 BB, 3 R • Lukas Cook: 7-for-14, 4 RBI, BB, 3 R, Sac Fly • Brandon Anderson: 4-for-13, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 3 HBP, 6 R • Avery Moore: 4-for-10, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, HBP, 2 R • Sergio DeCello: 3-for-7, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB, HBP, 3 R • Albert Choi: 4-for-13, 2B, 4 BB, 4 HBP, 7 R, 4 SB, 2 OF Asst • Michael Vallone: 2 App, 4 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 6 K |
The bottom of the first Sunday marked the second time in Holly Springs this season Purdue posted an eight-run inning. The lineup also erupted for a 10-run inning Saturday and scored five or more runs in a frame five times over the eight games at Ting Stadium.
But the more encouraging sign on the final day of a four-game series was the seven scoreless innnigs from the pitching staff. Akron (4-8) scored all four of its runs in the second inning. Chris Gallagher proved to be bulk innings reliever, working three hitless frames while posting zeros in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
In his second appearance of the series, Michael Vallone helped stabilize the circumstances for the Boilermakers. He won a lefty-lefty matchup vs. Jack Poist, Akron's top hitter who had hit for cycle Saturday night, to end the top of the second inning with runners on second and third.
Vallone gave up a double the following frame but center fielder Albert Choi and shortstop Lukas Cook teamed up to cut down a base runner on an extra-base hit for the second day in a row. From short right center, Cook easily threw out Blake Bowen at the plate trying to score from first base with no outs in the inning. The man who hit the gapper, Max Bowman, reached third on a ground out in the inning, but Akron did not have another runner advance past second base for the remainder of the game.
Choi had an eventful day as Purdue's leadoff man despite not putting the ball in play in any of his five plate appearances. He was hit by a pitch three times, including twice in the first inning, and had already scored three times by the fourth inning. He was on base 12 times in the series (4 hits, 4 walks, 4 HBP), scored a team-high seven runs and was credited with a pair of outfield assists.
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Logan Sutter – 14-game on-base (since May 21, 2024)
• Albert Choi – 12-game on-base
• Brandon Anderson – 11-game on-base, 10-game hit, 10-game run scored
• Avery Moore – 9-game on-base
Austin Klug and Amir Gray made their Purdue debuts in the seventh inning Sunday. Completing his comeback from an injury that sidelined him for much of the fall and kept him off the travel roster for the first weekend of the season, Klug struck out a pair while retiring three of four vs. the top of the lineup. In the bottom of the frame, Gray connected for a pinch-hit single in his first collegiate at-bat.
The Boilermakers' 11-1 start remains the program's best since the 2022 team opened its season 15-0. A step up in competition begins this coming week as midweek play opens Tuesday at Indiana State and Big Ten play starts as early as ever (excluding 2021) with a weekend series at Minnesota – inside U.S. Bank Stadium. Purdue will bat first as the visiting team for the first time this season. First pitch Tuesday in Terre Haute is set for 4 p.m. ET.