Purdue Scores 8, Posts 8 Zeros to Top Iowa in Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. – Austin Klug and Jarvis Evans teamed up to post eight zeros as Purdue Baseball surrendered only one run for the second day in a row, defeating Iowa 8-1 Thursday to advance at the Big Ten Tournament.

The Boilermakers (37-19) take on the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, top-seeded UCLA, in the quarterfinals Friday at 2 p.m. ET. Purdue’s last game against an opponent ranked No. 1 in the polls was at Vanderbilt on the 2011 spring break trip.

The Boilermakers scored eight unanswered runs after Iowa (33-23) put an unearned run on the board to open the scoring in the top of the fourth. Dylan Drake connected for a two-run triple and scored moments later on a sacrifice fly from Westin Boyle in the fourth inning. Aaron Manias’ two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the sixth made it 6-1 Purdue.

Klug induced a ground ball double play to erase a leadoff base runner in both the second and third innings. Klug handed the ball off to Evans with two on and two outs in the fifth inning. Manias made a sprawling pick on a hard-hit ball of the off the bat of Gable Mitchell for the final out. Evans went on to retire three of four batters in each of the next four innings to close out the win. Together, Klug and Evans (4-3) did not surrender an extra-base hit to an Iowa team that barreled up for 24 in 24 innings last weekend as the Hawkeyes swept Purdue in Des Moines.

Evans worked 7 1/3 innings scoreless innings of relief over two appearances vs. Iowa this season.

Purdue pitching has surrendered just two runs (one earned) over its last 23 innings since going down 8-0 to Michigan State in the fourth inning Tuesday. On Thursday, the Boilers posted eight zeros in a win for the 15th time this season – doing so in consecutive games for the first time. They were also victorious for the 22nd time in a game they trailed at some point.

CJ Richmond ignited Purdue’s sixth-inning rally with a leadoff bunt single, taking advantage of a vacated third base line as Iowa employed a shift against the lefthanded hitter. Richmond went first to third as Drake followed with a single to center field on a hit and run. Boyle executed a squeeze bunt on the next pitch as the Boilermakers scored on a squeeze for the second day in a row.

Manias doubled into the left field corner to apply the dagger – a two-out, two-run hit that chased Iowa’s third pitcher of the day.

Jackson Bessette also came through with an opposite-field RBI double the following frame. Sam Flores was in motion on the pitch and scored easily from first base.

Three straight singles from the top of the lineup and a sac fly from Avery Moore put a run on the board for third straight inning in the bottom of the eighth.

All nine hitters in the Purdue lineup reached base safely in the win. The only two that did not have a hit registered at least three productive plate appearances. The bottom four in the lineup – Bessette, Richmond, Drake and Boyle – were a combined 5-for-11 with two extra-base hits, five RBI, three free passes and six runs scored.

The Boilermakers’ 37 wins have tied the third most in team history. The 1986 and 2011 teams also won 37 games. Purdue has won multiple games at the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2018. The 1987, 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012 teams also won multiple games at the event.

The Boilermakers already have four wins this season – three vs. Murray State and one vs. Oregon State – against 2025 College World Series qualifiers. UCLA was also among the eight teams at the College World Series a year ago.

STREAKS EXTENDED
• Dylan Drake: 13-game on-base; 12-game on-base vs Big Ten teams