WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Albert Choi hit a game-opening home run on a night when Purdue Baseball racked up 13 hits, but the game turned on a two-out, three-run homer in the fifth inning as UCLA went on take the series opener 8-5 Friday at Alexander Field.
Game 2 of the series Saturday has been moved up to a 1 p.m. ET first pitch. It will not be a doubleheader Saturday.
The Bruins (20-5, 8-2 Big Ten) scored their first five runs on homers – none bigger than Roman Martin's three-run blast with two outs in the top of the fifth. But it was a two-out, two-run single from AJ Salgado in the top of the eighth inning that proved to be one of the biggest hits of the night. Salgado delivered with the bases loaded and Purdue closer Avery Cook on the mound.
The clutch single loomed even larger when the Boilermakers (20-5, 3-4 Big Ten) put runners on second and third to bring the tying run to the plate with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Purdue stranded two runners on base in three of the final four innings.
Brandon Rogers, Ty Gill and Lukas Cook all enjoyed three-hit nights for the Boilermakers. Rogers delivered a two-run single in his first at-bat. Gill plated Rogers with run-scoring hits in the fourth and sixth innings, with Gill's RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth making it a one-run game.
Keenan Spence doubled off the top of the center field wall in front of Rogers' two-run single in the second inning. Spence also finished with multiple hits, teaming with Rogers and Gill to make the 7-8-9 portion of the Purdue lineup a combined 8-for-12 with three extra-base hits, four RBI and three runs scored.
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Albert Choi: 25-game on-base (as a Boilermaker)
• Keenan Spence: 8-game on-base, 7-game hit; 12-game on-base, 8-game hit in Big Ten play (since 2024)
• Logan Sutter: 7-game on-base, 7-game on-base in Big Ten play
• Aaron Manias: 7-game on-base; 7-game on-base in Big Ten play
The Boilermakers' 13 hits were a season high in a Big Ten game but, UCLA primarily made them earn their way on base. The Bruins used six pitchers and they teamed up for 15 strikeouts vs. just two free passes – one walk and one hit by pitch – a season low total drawn by the Purdue lineup.
Lukas Cook singled to open the ninth inning and Logan Sutter's opposite-field double led to the Bruins going back to the bullpen for closer Justin Lee. Lee won a full-count battle for a strikeout and then induced a game-ending popout. Those outs punctuated four innings of one-run relief from the UCLA bullpen.
Choi's first home run as a Boilermaker was Purdue's third game-opening long ball in less than a year's time. All-Big Ten outfielder Mike Bolton Jr. hit a leadoff home run in consecutive weekends in April of last season, which at the time were the program's first since May 2017.
All five runs Purdue starter Carter Doorn surrendered came via the home run. He was one strike away from getting through five innings of two-run ball on a very hitter-friendly evening at Alexander, but Martin won the full-count battle with two men aboard, giving the visitors their first lead of the night. They did not relinquish it.
Avery Cook was charged with a run for the first time this season, ending his consecutive scoreless innings streak at 15 dating back to the end of the 2024 campaign. Brandon Anderson was kept off base Friday for the first time as a Boilermaker, ending his on-base streak at 23 consecutive games.
The series continues Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
Game 2 of the series Saturday has been moved up to a 1 p.m. ET first pitch. It will not be a doubleheader Saturday.
The Bruins (20-5, 8-2 Big Ten) scored their first five runs on homers – none bigger than Roman Martin's three-run blast with two outs in the top of the fifth. But it was a two-out, two-run single from AJ Salgado in the top of the eighth inning that proved to be one of the biggest hits of the night. Salgado delivered with the bases loaded and Purdue closer Avery Cook on the mound.
The clutch single loomed even larger when the Boilermakers (20-5, 3-4 Big Ten) put runners on second and third to bring the tying run to the plate with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Purdue stranded two runners on base in three of the final four innings.
Brandon Rogers, Ty Gill and Lukas Cook all enjoyed three-hit nights for the Boilermakers. Rogers delivered a two-run single in his first at-bat. Gill plated Rogers with run-scoring hits in the fourth and sixth innings, with Gill's RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth making it a one-run game.
Keenan Spence doubled off the top of the center field wall in front of Rogers' two-run single in the second inning. Spence also finished with multiple hits, teaming with Rogers and Gill to make the 7-8-9 portion of the Purdue lineup a combined 8-for-12 with three extra-base hits, four RBI and three runs scored.
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Albert Choi: 25-game on-base (as a Boilermaker)
• Keenan Spence: 8-game on-base, 7-game hit; 12-game on-base, 8-game hit in Big Ten play (since 2024)
• Logan Sutter: 7-game on-base, 7-game on-base in Big Ten play
• Aaron Manias: 7-game on-base; 7-game on-base in Big Ten play
The Boilermakers' 13 hits were a season high in a Big Ten game but, UCLA primarily made them earn their way on base. The Bruins used six pitchers and they teamed up for 15 strikeouts vs. just two free passes – one walk and one hit by pitch – a season low total drawn by the Purdue lineup.
Lukas Cook singled to open the ninth inning and Logan Sutter's opposite-field double led to the Bruins going back to the bullpen for closer Justin Lee. Lee won a full-count battle for a strikeout and then induced a game-ending popout. Those outs punctuated four innings of one-run relief from the UCLA bullpen.
Choi's first home run as a Boilermaker was Purdue's third game-opening long ball in less than a year's time. All-Big Ten outfielder Mike Bolton Jr. hit a leadoff home run in consecutive weekends in April of last season, which at the time were the program's first since May 2017.
All five runs Purdue starter Carter Doorn surrendered came via the home run. He was one strike away from getting through five innings of two-run ball on a very hitter-friendly evening at Alexander, but Martin won the full-count battle with two men aboard, giving the visitors their first lead of the night. They did not relinquish it.
Avery Cook was charged with a run for the first time this season, ending his consecutive scoreless innings streak at 15 dating back to the end of the 2024 campaign. Brandon Anderson was kept off base Friday for the first time as a Boilermaker, ending his on-base streak at 23 consecutive games.
The series continues Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.