Rutgers baseball avoids being swept by Purdue with game three victory

Rutgers baseball (26-18, 8-7) avoids being swept by the Purdue Boilermakers (21-22, 10-8) over the weekend with a game three 9-5 victory.

Rutgers baseball (26-18, 8-7 Big Ten) avoids being swept by the Purdue Boilermakers (21-22, 10-8 Big Ten) over the weekend with a game three 9-5 victory. On Friday, the Scarlet Knights kicked off their three-game series at Alexander Field in West Lafayette, Indiana, losing to the Boilermakers 6-1 in game one. On Saturday, Rutgers dropped game two, losing 6-3. The Scarlet Knights avoided being swept on Sunday, defeating the Boilermakers 9-5 in the series finale.

Game 1

The bats were quiet in game one for the Scarlet Knights, only producing one run. Rutgers had a total of five hits, leaving seven runners on base. Purdue grabbed the lead in the bottom of the third inning and didn’t look back.

Rutgers catcher Andy Axelson had the only RBI for the Scarlet Knights, grounding out to shortstop, scoring Evan Sleight in the top of the fifth inning.

Rutgers Christian Coppola started the game for the Scarlet Knights, recording 5.2 innings pitched, letting up five hits, five earned runs, three walks, and three strikeouts.

[lawrence-related id=26325]

Game 2

Purdue defeated the Scarlet Knights 6-3 in game two, locking up the series win for the Boilermakers. The Scarlet Knights recorded eight hits, scoring only three runs.

Rutgers struck early with an RBI single by infielder Chris Brito in the top of the first inning, but Purdue would go on to score a run in the bottom of the second and four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 5-1 lead.

Rutgers first baseman Jordan Sweeney was able to get the Scarlet Knights back in the game (5-3) with a two-run home run in the top of the fourth inning, but that was the closest Rutgers would get.

Grant Besser got the start for the Scarlet Knights, pitching two innings, letting up six hits, five runs, two walks, and one strikeout. Rutgers bullpen recorded five innings, letting up six hits, one run, five strikeouts, and four walks in game two’s defeat.

Game 3

Purdue jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in game three. Rutgers Jordan Sweeney drove in Hugh Pinkney in the top of the fifth inning, cutting Purdue’s lead to 5-1. Also, Jordan Sweeney cut the deficit to 5-4 with his second home run of the weekend, scoring three runs.

Josh Kuroda-Grauer tied the game with a triple off the wall, scoring Max Martin to tie the game at 5-5. Evan Sleight’s RBI single gave the Scarlet Knights a 6-5 lead in the seventh inning.

The Scarlet Knights score nine unanswered runs, and Jake Marshall nails it down with four scoreless innings as Rutgers takes the series finale over Purdue to end the weekend on a high note.

[lawrence-related id=26163]

[mm-video type=video id=01gz7p8nxr0q2w6et3h5 playlist_id=none player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gz7p8nxr0q2w6et3h5/01gz7p8nxr0q2w6et3h5-856abde5117c1087602bd0b7893328d0.jpg]