MINNEAPOLIS – Keenan Spence and Aaron Manias connected for a three-run homer and grand slam in consecutive innings after Purdue Baseball had fallen behind for the first time on the weekend, powering the Boilermakers to an 11-6 victory Saturday at Minnesota.
Purdue (14-1, 2-0 Big Ten) clinched its fourth straight series victory to begin the season and fourth consecutive series win in Minneapolis dating back to 2017. The Boilermakers are assured of a series win on the road to open Big Ten play for the first time since 2019 at Northwestern.
Purdue trailed 4-2 when Spence hit his three-run homer to left field in the sixth inning. After the Gophers (5-7, 0-2 Big Ten) had retaken the lead 6-5, Manias connected for the Boilers' third grand slam of the season and first in Big Ten play since Jake Jarvis cleared the bases in the ninth inning of an April 2023 series-clinching win at Minnesota's Siebert Field.
Brandon Anderson led off the ninth inning with the longest home run of the day, an upper deck blast to right field to extend Purdue's lead to 10-6.
Manias continued his monster week with another four-hit game, giving him 13 RBI over the three wins this week. While his leadoff double in the second inning may have been a gift after outfielder Drew Berkland lost the fly ball in the U.S. Bank Stadium roof, there was nothing cheap about Manias' game-changing blast to right center with the sacks packed in the seventh inning. Purdue loaded the bases without the luxury of a hit via a hit by pitch of Albert Choi and consecutive one-out walks to Anderson and Logan Sutter with a pitching changed sandwiched in between.
SATURDAY'S LEADERS
• Aaron Manias: 4-for-5, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
• Keenan Spence: 3-Run HR, Sac Fly, 4 RBI, 2 R
• Brandon Anderson: HR, BB, 2 R
• Easton Storey: 4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, BB, 8 K
• Cole Van Assen: Save, 3 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 2 K
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Logan Sutter – 17-game on-base (since May 21, 2024), on-base safely multiple times in all 15 games
• Albert Choi – 15-game on-base (as a Boilermaker)
• Brandon Anderson – 14-game on-base, 13-game run scored
• Aaron Manias: 5-game hit, 5-game run scored
• Lukas Cook: 5-game hit
Cole Van Assen retired seven of the nine batters he faced over three innings of one-hit relief, earning his first collegiate save. Purdue turned a pair of double plays behind Van Assen, including a game-ending 4-3 twin killing handled by second baseman Ty Gill. Van Assen rolled through a 1-2-3 inning vs. the top of the Gophers' lineup in the bottom of the seventh after Manias' slam had given the visitors a 9-6 lead.
Easton Storey struck out eight over 4 2/3 innings, posting a pair of punchouts in three consecutive innings. The lefty struck out seven of nine hitters during his most dominant stretch. But consecutive hits to open the fifth inning set the stage for Minnesota's first lead of the series. Storey nearly stranded runners on second and third, but a hit by pitch of the 9-hole hitter on a 1-2 count rolled the lineup over and the 1-2-3 portion delivered with two outs to make it a four-run frame. Berkland's two-run single after Storey had departed made it a big inning.
Weber Neels hit a long home run to left field after a leadoff walk in the sixth inning to give his team its 6-5 lead. Enas Hayden (2-0) got Purdue out of the inning and ended up earning the win in the process, accounting for the second pickoff of the night to erase a one-out walk.
The Boilermakers took advantage of two fielding miscues while scoring two runs in the second inning for the second night in a row. Houston Russell drew a walk to load the bases, Eli Anderson drove in the game's first run with his team-leading fourth sacrifice fly of the season (in just 28 plate appearances) and Choi followed with a two-out RBI single.
Along with his 13 RBI, Manias has seven extra-base hits (five doubles, two home runs) during a breakout 9-for-13 showing at the plate this week. For the season, the newcomer has 15 RBI in just 25 at-bats.
The Boilermakers have scored 67 runs over their first six games in the month of March. Saturday they scored at least nine runs for the 10th time in their 15 games this season.
Sunday's series finale is slated for a 2 p.m. ET first pitch. Brayden Olson, a native of nearby St. Croix Falls, Wis., is expected to make the start on the mound – the first of his career in Big Ten play yet his second start of the week overall.
Purdue (14-1, 2-0 Big Ten) clinched its fourth straight series victory to begin the season and fourth consecutive series win in Minneapolis dating back to 2017. The Boilermakers are assured of a series win on the road to open Big Ten play for the first time since 2019 at Northwestern.
Purdue trailed 4-2 when Spence hit his three-run homer to left field in the sixth inning. After the Gophers (5-7, 0-2 Big Ten) had retaken the lead 6-5, Manias connected for the Boilers' third grand slam of the season and first in Big Ten play since Jake Jarvis cleared the bases in the ninth inning of an April 2023 series-clinching win at Minnesota's Siebert Field.
Brandon Anderson led off the ninth inning with the longest home run of the day, an upper deck blast to right field to extend Purdue's lead to 10-6.
Manias continued his monster week with another four-hit game, giving him 13 RBI over the three wins this week. While his leadoff double in the second inning may have been a gift after outfielder Drew Berkland lost the fly ball in the U.S. Bank Stadium roof, there was nothing cheap about Manias' game-changing blast to right center with the sacks packed in the seventh inning. Purdue loaded the bases without the luxury of a hit via a hit by pitch of Albert Choi and consecutive one-out walks to Anderson and Logan Sutter with a pitching changed sandwiched in between.
SATURDAY'S LEADERS
• Aaron Manias: 4-for-5, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
• Keenan Spence: 3-Run HR, Sac Fly, 4 RBI, 2 R
• Brandon Anderson: HR, BB, 2 R
• Easton Storey: 4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, BB, 8 K
• Cole Van Assen: Save, 3 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 2 K
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Logan Sutter – 17-game on-base (since May 21, 2024), on-base safely multiple times in all 15 games
• Albert Choi – 15-game on-base (as a Boilermaker)
• Brandon Anderson – 14-game on-base, 13-game run scored
• Aaron Manias: 5-game hit, 5-game run scored
• Lukas Cook: 5-game hit
Cole Van Assen retired seven of the nine batters he faced over three innings of one-hit relief, earning his first collegiate save. Purdue turned a pair of double plays behind Van Assen, including a game-ending 4-3 twin killing handled by second baseman Ty Gill. Van Assen rolled through a 1-2-3 inning vs. the top of the Gophers' lineup in the bottom of the seventh after Manias' slam had given the visitors a 9-6 lead.
Easton Storey struck out eight over 4 2/3 innings, posting a pair of punchouts in three consecutive innings. The lefty struck out seven of nine hitters during his most dominant stretch. But consecutive hits to open the fifth inning set the stage for Minnesota's first lead of the series. Storey nearly stranded runners on second and third, but a hit by pitch of the 9-hole hitter on a 1-2 count rolled the lineup over and the 1-2-3 portion delivered with two outs to make it a four-run frame. Berkland's two-run single after Storey had departed made it a big inning.
Weber Neels hit a long home run to left field after a leadoff walk in the sixth inning to give his team its 6-5 lead. Enas Hayden (2-0) got Purdue out of the inning and ended up earning the win in the process, accounting for the second pickoff of the night to erase a one-out walk.
The Boilermakers took advantage of two fielding miscues while scoring two runs in the second inning for the second night in a row. Houston Russell drew a walk to load the bases, Eli Anderson drove in the game's first run with his team-leading fourth sacrifice fly of the season (in just 28 plate appearances) and Choi followed with a two-out RBI single.
Along with his 13 RBI, Manias has seven extra-base hits (five doubles, two home runs) during a breakout 9-for-13 showing at the plate this week. For the season, the newcomer has 15 RBI in just 25 at-bats.
The Boilermakers have scored 67 runs over their first six games in the month of March. Saturday they scored at least nine runs for the 10th time in their 15 games this season.
Sunday's series finale is slated for a 2 p.m. ET first pitch. Brayden Olson, a native of nearby St. Croix Falls, Wis., is expected to make the start on the mound – the first of his career in Big Ten play yet his second start of the week overall.