Through five innings of Saturday’s game with Baylor Purdue’s trip to the prestigious Round Rock Classic looked like it was going to be an 0-fer. The Boilermakers had already lost to Southern Miss on Friday evening and they trailed Baylor 5-0 through six. With No. 12 Oregon State waiting on Sunday an 0-3 trip looked likely.
Purdue made a sutnning comeback, however, to edge the Bears 6-5, then they pulled off a huge upset int he Sunday game against Oregon State 5-2 to get two VERY good wins in the Round
Rock Classic. If Baylor defeats Southern Miss on Sunday Purdue will tie with the Eagles at 2-1 for the weekend, while Oregon State and Baylor would go 1-2.
Friday: #20 Southern Miss 5, Purdue 4
Purdue came up just short of a weekend sweep after the Golden Eagles walked them off with a run in the ninth Friday. The Boilers jumped on top early with a run in the first due to an error, but Southern Miss was able to move in front 4-1 with a four-run fourth inning, which chased starter Cole Van Assen. Thomas Howard kept Purdue in it with 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief while only giving up one hit.
The Boilers left the bases loaded without scoring in the sixth, but it was in the eighth that they finally made their move. Trey Swiderski hit a solo home run and Westin Boyle tied it with a two-run single. Purdue again loaded the bases in the ninth, but did not score before Southern won on an RBI double in the bottom of hte ninth.
Saturday: Purdue 6, Baylor 5
once again, Purdue fell behind early as Baylor was up 5-0 throught he top of the sixth, but a big three-run home run from CJ Richmond gave the Boilermakers momentum in the bottom of the sixth.
Richmond would collect his fourth RBI witha two-out single in the seventh that tied things at 5-5. That set the stage for a dramatic ninth inning, where Brandon Rogers lead off with a bunt single. He was then singled over to second before Westin Boyle capped it with a walk-off single up the middle.
Jake Kramer earned the win for Purdue, but the bullpen pitched five and a third scoreless innings to keep the Boilermakers in it.
Sunday: Purdue 5, No. 12 Oregon State 2
This is Purdue’s first win over a top 25 team since it took one of four games at Texas early in the 2019 season, and it is a tremendous non-conference win for any potential NCAA Tournament resume. Jarvis Evans gave up just two runs on three hits, both in the second inning, to earn the win with a solid start. Kramer collected the save in the ninth as well.
The big hit came in the fifth when Purdue scored four times to move in front 5-2. Rogers and Boyle each drove in runs, while two runs scored on this error by the Beavers:
Overall, I have to say that it was a very impressive weekend and exceeded all my expectations. Purdue was probably the worst team on paper entering the field and it ended up winning two games and coming up just short in the third one. After two weeks Purdue sits at 4-3, but the losses to Rice and Southern Miss are not bad ones. Portland is at least showing it is competitive too, so the season opening loss could end up being better than it looks. I don’t think Purdue is a tournament team, but do not discount these two wins this weekend. They are the best non-conference wins Purdue has gotten in six years under Greg Goff.
Purdue has a chance tos tack some wins when it hosts winless Marist next weekend for four games in Holly Springs, NC.
