After splitting the first two games, Purdue and IU will play for the series Sunday afternoon.
After a 7 to 4 victory last night at Alexander Fied, Purdue suffered their first Big Ten setback in a couple of weeks Saturday afternoon, losing 10 to 2 to IU.
Standout freshman, Luke Gaffney returned to the field today after a three-game suspension due to an ejection at Northwestern last week and struggled mightily swinging the bat.
The slugger went 0 for 5 for the game, showing a bit of rust after his short suspension.
Luke Wagner suffered the loss for the game, though only two of the ten runs that were given up were earned by him. The standout pitcher came into the game with a 7-0 record on the season in 11 appearances and pitched 6.1 admirable innings before getting pulled.
It has not happened too often this season, but the bullpen was hit and hit hard. The relievers gave up 8 runs from the 7th inning to the 9th, with six of the runs coming at the top of the 7th, once Wagner was pulled.
While the outcome was disappointing, Purdue fans came out in droves, setting the attendance record for the third time this week, this time, the fan total was over 2,600 at Alexander Field.
Once again we say #ThankYouFans for packing Alexander to a level it’s never been filled before. #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/lyphzcSiWB
— Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) May 4, 2024
Tomorrow, Purdue will host the series’s rubber match, arguably the season’s most important rubber match. If the Boilers win, they extend their lead atop the conference, with a loss, they will be tied with the Hoosiers.
Purdue is expecting a big crowd tomorrow afternoon, once again. The first pitch will be thrown at 1:00 PM. It will be hard to top today’s first pitch though, as Hall of Fame Coach, Gene Keady was the man in the arena.
According to the Baseball website, it will also be an opportunity to see many, many dogs, as Purdue plans to host their annual Bark at the Park.