WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Lukas Cook's go-ahead home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth and Brandon Rogers' diving catch in center field to save a run two innings earlier were the top individual moments of the day as Purdue Baseball split a doubleheader with Michigan on Saturday at Alexander Field.
The Boilermakers (19-4, 3-3 Big Ten) scored three times in the eighth inning to win game 1, 9-6. The Wolverines' two big innings – a five third and a four-run fifth – were the difference in the nightcap as the visitors took the rubber game 12-9 to win the series.
There were a combined 36 runs scored Saturday and 52 over the course of the three-game set.
Both teams hit a home run into the right field bullpen in the eighth inning of game 1. Pinch hitter Robert Hamchuk's two-out blast tied the game at 6-6, but Cook quickly put Purdue back in front with an opposite-field blast to open the bottom half of the frame. It capped a three-hit game for the shortstop after his 10-game hit streak came to an end Friday.
Rogers laid out in center field to take away a two-out RBI single from Michigan's top hitter, Mitch Voit. The catch came with runners on first and second, and the score tied 5-5 in the top of the sixth. An inning earlier, the Wolverines (13-10, 5-4 Big Ten) had surged in front with a five-run rally before Purdue answered and pulled even with two runs in the bottom half.
Thanks in part to Rogers' highlight-reel catch, Isaac Milburn and Avery Cook were able to team up for 3 2/3 innings of one-run relief to close out the win. Cook got the final four outs after Milburn retired seven of the nine batters he faced.
SATURDAY'S LEADERS
• Brandon Anderson: 4-for-7, HR, RBI, 3 BB, 5 R
• Keenan Spence: 3-for-8, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, SB
• Lukas Cook: 3-for-9, 2B, HR, BB, 3 R
• Logan Sutter: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 2 R, 2 Sac Flies
• Aaron Manias: 3-Run HR
• Houston Russell: 2-for-2, 2B, BB, 2 R, Sac Bunt
• Easton Storey: 4+ IP, H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• Isaac Milburn: 2 1/3 IP, 2 H, R, BB, 3 K
• Avery Cook: 2 App, 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, K
• Nick Kolze: 2 IP, H, R, 2 BB
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Albert Choi: 23-game on-base (as a Boilermaker)
• Brandon Anderson: 22-game on-base
• Avery Cook: 13 consecutive scoreless innings (since May 22, 2024)
• Keenan Spence: 6-game on-base, 5-game hit; 6-game hit in Big Ten play
• Logan Sutter: 6-game on-base in Big Ten play
• Aaron Manias: 6-game on-base in Big Ten play
Michigan thrived on big innings in the series, scoring 24 of its 31 runs via frames that featured four-plus runs (five such innings total). Purdue scored first in all three games, but U-M enjoyed a 26-11 scoring edge across the third through fifth innings.
While the Boilermakers scored late to take game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader, Michigan kept scoring in the nightcap to hold off a Purdue comeback. With his team trailing 9-3 in the bottom of the fifth, Aaron Manias got the Boilers back in it with a three-run homer to right field. Purdue would cut it to a two-run deficit twice in subsequent innings, but the visitors scored in the top of the next frame both times.
PURDUE NOTABLES
• Brandon Anderson went deep in the first inning of the nightcap, marking the second time in the series and third time in the last six games he connected for a long ball to right field in the bottom of the first. It was his sixth home run of the season and led to a three-hit game.
• Keenan Spence connected for a go-ahead, two-out RBI double in the sixth inning of game 1. Isaac Milburn then helped Purdue keep the momentum by going through U-M's 3-4-5 hitters in the top of the seventh, erasing a one-out single with a pickoff at first base.
• Easton Storey impressed through the first four innings of game 1, retiring 12 of the first 13 batters he faced. The only hit he surrendered on the day was a leadoff home run in the top of the fifth.
• Sergio DeCello's return sparked the Boilermakers in the game 1 victory. In his first action since suffering an injury on a first-inning single in the March 2 win vs. Akron, DeCello scored twice over the first five innings. He was aboard via a hit by pitch when Purdue successfully executed hit-and-run sequences on consecutive pitches. DeCello went first to third as Brandon Rogers had a check-swing single through the right side of the infield. Rogers was in motion on the next pitch and Ty Gill hit the ball the opposite way through the vacated left side. After he singled in the fifth, DeCello scored when the U-M catcher threw the ball into left field on a double steal by the Boilermakers.
• In the nightcap of the doubleheader, Avery Moore's RBI double and a two-out RBI single from Albert Choi cut Michigan's lead to 11-9 in the eighth inning.
The Boilermakers continue their season-long 12-game homestand when they host Valparaiso on Tuesday for the final 4 p.m. matinee of the season at Alexander Field. It's a $3 midweek matchup presented by Indiana Packers – general admission tickets, hot dogs, beers, popcorn and nachos are all specially priced at $3.
The Boilermakers (19-4, 3-3 Big Ten) scored three times in the eighth inning to win game 1, 9-6. The Wolverines' two big innings – a five third and a four-run fifth – were the difference in the nightcap as the visitors took the rubber game 12-9 to win the series.
There were a combined 36 runs scored Saturday and 52 over the course of the three-game set.
Both teams hit a home run into the right field bullpen in the eighth inning of game 1. Pinch hitter Robert Hamchuk's two-out blast tied the game at 6-6, but Cook quickly put Purdue back in front with an opposite-field blast to open the bottom half of the frame. It capped a three-hit game for the shortstop after his 10-game hit streak came to an end Friday.
Rogers laid out in center field to take away a two-out RBI single from Michigan's top hitter, Mitch Voit. The catch came with runners on first and second, and the score tied 5-5 in the top of the sixth. An inning earlier, the Wolverines (13-10, 5-4 Big Ten) had surged in front with a five-run rally before Purdue answered and pulled even with two runs in the bottom half.
Thanks in part to Rogers' highlight-reel catch, Isaac Milburn and Avery Cook were able to team up for 3 2/3 innings of one-run relief to close out the win. Cook got the final four outs after Milburn retired seven of the nine batters he faced.
SATURDAY'S LEADERS
• Brandon Anderson: 4-for-7, HR, RBI, 3 BB, 5 R
• Keenan Spence: 3-for-8, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, SB
• Lukas Cook: 3-for-9, 2B, HR, BB, 3 R
• Logan Sutter: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 2 R, 2 Sac Flies
• Aaron Manias: 3-Run HR
• Houston Russell: 2-for-2, 2B, BB, 2 R, Sac Bunt
• Easton Storey: 4+ IP, H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• Isaac Milburn: 2 1/3 IP, 2 H, R, BB, 3 K
• Avery Cook: 2 App, 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, K
• Nick Kolze: 2 IP, H, R, 2 BB
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Albert Choi: 23-game on-base (as a Boilermaker)
• Brandon Anderson: 22-game on-base
• Avery Cook: 13 consecutive scoreless innings (since May 22, 2024)
• Keenan Spence: 6-game on-base, 5-game hit; 6-game hit in Big Ten play
• Logan Sutter: 6-game on-base in Big Ten play
• Aaron Manias: 6-game on-base in Big Ten play
Michigan thrived on big innings in the series, scoring 24 of its 31 runs via frames that featured four-plus runs (five such innings total). Purdue scored first in all three games, but U-M enjoyed a 26-11 scoring edge across the third through fifth innings.
While the Boilermakers scored late to take game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader, Michigan kept scoring in the nightcap to hold off a Purdue comeback. With his team trailing 9-3 in the bottom of the fifth, Aaron Manias got the Boilers back in it with a three-run homer to right field. Purdue would cut it to a two-run deficit twice in subsequent innings, but the visitors scored in the top of the next frame both times.
PURDUE NOTABLES
• Brandon Anderson went deep in the first inning of the nightcap, marking the second time in the series and third time in the last six games he connected for a long ball to right field in the bottom of the first. It was his sixth home run of the season and led to a three-hit game.
• Keenan Spence connected for a go-ahead, two-out RBI double in the sixth inning of game 1. Isaac Milburn then helped Purdue keep the momentum by going through U-M's 3-4-5 hitters in the top of the seventh, erasing a one-out single with a pickoff at first base.
• Easton Storey impressed through the first four innings of game 1, retiring 12 of the first 13 batters he faced. The only hit he surrendered on the day was a leadoff home run in the top of the fifth.
• Sergio DeCello's return sparked the Boilermakers in the game 1 victory. In his first action since suffering an injury on a first-inning single in the March 2 win vs. Akron, DeCello scored twice over the first five innings. He was aboard via a hit by pitch when Purdue successfully executed hit-and-run sequences on consecutive pitches. DeCello went first to third as Brandon Rogers had a check-swing single through the right side of the infield. Rogers was in motion on the next pitch and Ty Gill hit the ball the opposite way through the vacated left side. After he singled in the fifth, DeCello scored when the U-M catcher threw the ball into left field on a double steal by the Boilermakers.
• In the nightcap of the doubleheader, Avery Moore's RBI double and a two-out RBI single from Albert Choi cut Michigan's lead to 11-9 in the eighth inning.
The Boilermakers continue their season-long 12-game homestand when they host Valparaiso on Tuesday for the final 4 p.m. matinee of the season at Alexander Field. It's a $3 midweek matchup presented by Indiana Packers – general admission tickets, hot dogs, beers, popcorn and nachos are all specially priced at $3.