SEATTLE – Michael Vallone racked up 10 strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings of hitless relief while retiring the final 13 batters he faced, but Purdue Baseball's late rally came up 90 feet short in the top of the ninth as Washington held on to take game 2 of the series 5-4 Saturday.
Sunday's first pitch has been moved up 30 minutes to 2 p.m. ET. The 11 a.m. local time start at Husky Ballpark will be the Boilermakers' earliest of the season.
Purdue (20-10, 3-8 Big Ten) lost its sixth consecutive game and seventh of its last eight in Big Ten play. The Huskies (15-17, 7-4 Big Ten) clinched their third series win over their first four weekends of Big Ten play in their debut season in the conference.
Vallone joined Trent Johnson (March 2019 at Northwestern) as the Boilermakers' only relief pitchers since 2005 to record 10 strikeouts in an outing. Vallone also joined Easton Storey as Purdue pitchers with a 10-strikeout performance this season. Jackson Smeltz (April 2022 vs. Indiana) was the last Boilermaker with 10 Ks vs. a Big Ten opponent.
Vallone's rare feat by a reliever was fueled in part by the baseball unicorn of a four-strikeout inning. The lefty achieved the feat in the fourth inning, with a wild pitch on strike three allowing 8-hole hitter Trevor Kole to reach first base safely.
Another great catch in center field by Brandon Rogers gave Vallone his third straight 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh. Rogers made a leaping grab in front of the warning track to rob UW's top hitter, Casen Taggart. Rogers' sunglasses fell off his hat as he landed on the warning track. Because he was laying face first toward the center field wall when he picked up his sunglasses before running into the Purdue dugout, Washington mistakenly believed he had dropped the ball and was picking it up against the fence. A video review confirmed it was in fact the sunglasses and the ball never left Rogers' glove.
Vallone retired 16 of the 18 batters he faced – including the final 13 – while posting five innings of hitless relief for the second time this season. Only seven of those 18 batters put the ball in play (six in fair territory) and all seven were retired on fly balls.
Washington led throughout the night after scoring in each of the first three innings. Jackson Hotchkiss and Braeden Terry connected for two-run homers in consecutive innings.
Down 5-2 entering the top of the ninth, Purdue loaded the bases with one out to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Washington went to relief ace Isaac Yeager for the second night in a row and Lukas Cook greeted him with a base hit to load the bases. CJ Richmond followed with an RBI single to keep the line moving. Logan Sutter drove in another run when he stayed out of a double play on a ground ball to third base.
Purdue had pinch hit for 5-hole hitter Keenan Spence to lead off the eighth inning. With the game on the line, Camden Gasser got the call to hit with Cook at third representing the tying run. Yeager won the battle with a strikeout to end the game.
Doubles by Brandon Anderson and Cook led to the Boilermakers' first two runs, capitalizing on walks in the fifth and seventh innings.
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Aaron Manias: 11-game on-base in Big Ten play
• Lukas Cook: 9-game on-base, 7-game on-base in Big Ten play
Sunday's first pitch has been moved up 30 minutes to 2 p.m. ET. The 11 a.m. local time start at Husky Ballpark will be the Boilermakers' earliest of the season.
Purdue (20-10, 3-8 Big Ten) lost its sixth consecutive game and seventh of its last eight in Big Ten play. The Huskies (15-17, 7-4 Big Ten) clinched their third series win over their first four weekends of Big Ten play in their debut season in the conference.
Vallone joined Trent Johnson (March 2019 at Northwestern) as the Boilermakers' only relief pitchers since 2005 to record 10 strikeouts in an outing. Vallone also joined Easton Storey as Purdue pitchers with a 10-strikeout performance this season. Jackson Smeltz (April 2022 vs. Indiana) was the last Boilermaker with 10 Ks vs. a Big Ten opponent.
Vallone's rare feat by a reliever was fueled in part by the baseball unicorn of a four-strikeout inning. The lefty achieved the feat in the fourth inning, with a wild pitch on strike three allowing 8-hole hitter Trevor Kole to reach first base safely.
Another great catch in center field by Brandon Rogers gave Vallone his third straight 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh. Rogers made a leaping grab in front of the warning track to rob UW's top hitter, Casen Taggart. Rogers' sunglasses fell off his hat as he landed on the warning track. Because he was laying face first toward the center field wall when he picked up his sunglasses before running into the Purdue dugout, Washington mistakenly believed he had dropped the ball and was picking it up against the fence. A video review confirmed it was in fact the sunglasses and the ball never left Rogers' glove.
Vallone retired 16 of the 18 batters he faced – including the final 13 – while posting five innings of hitless relief for the second time this season. Only seven of those 18 batters put the ball in play (six in fair territory) and all seven were retired on fly balls.
Washington led throughout the night after scoring in each of the first three innings. Jackson Hotchkiss and Braeden Terry connected for two-run homers in consecutive innings.
Down 5-2 entering the top of the ninth, Purdue loaded the bases with one out to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Washington went to relief ace Isaac Yeager for the second night in a row and Lukas Cook greeted him with a base hit to load the bases. CJ Richmond followed with an RBI single to keep the line moving. Logan Sutter drove in another run when he stayed out of a double play on a ground ball to third base.
Purdue had pinch hit for 5-hole hitter Keenan Spence to lead off the eighth inning. With the game on the line, Camden Gasser got the call to hit with Cook at third representing the tying run. Yeager won the battle with a strikeout to end the game.
Doubles by Brandon Anderson and Cook led to the Boilermakers' first two runs, capitalizing on walks in the fifth and seventh innings.
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Aaron Manias: 11-game on-base in Big Ten play
• Lukas Cook: 9-game on-base, 7-game on-base in Big Ten play