Boilermusings for 4/22

Congratulations are in order to Purdue freshman Aidan Fox. He led all 160 laps of Saturday’s Purdue Grand Prix to take home the win in his first try. It was a dominant week for Fox, as he set a new record in qualifying for the race. He finished with one of the largest gaps ever between first and second place at the event. It was one of the most dominant wins in the 67 year history of the Grand Prix, as Fox never trailed after taking the pole in qualifying.

His win was the marquee event of the weekend at the Northwest Sports Complex, as both baseball and softball were at home for three-game series.

Baseball Drops Two of Three

East Tennessee State entered this weekend’s non-conference series with Purdue as one of the best hitting teams in the country, and they showed why for much of the weekend in taking two of three from Purdue at Alexander Field. The Bucs won a close game on Friday, while the next two games were blowout run-rule wins by each team to decide the series.

On Friday Keenan Taylor and Logan Sutter each had solo home runs in the second to give the Boilers a 2-1 lead. ETSU then got four in the third and four in the fourth to jump in front 9-2. An error and a balk gave Purdue two runs back in the fifth before Luke Gaffney’s three-run home run in the ninth cut it to 9-7. Purdue then had a pair of runners on base with a chance to tie or win before Sutter lined out to third for the final out.

On Saturday Purdue showed up with its bats in an 18-7 win via mercy rule in seven innings. Mike Bolton Jr. drove in five runs from the leadoff spot, including a leadoff home run in the first. Purdue scored at least one run in every inning, with Gaffney providing a fourth inning grand slam. Others kept the power going as Sutter also had a home run, while Thomas Green and Bolton each had a triple.

On Sunday it was ETSU’s turn to get a run-rule victory. Purdue lead early on a second inning two-run home run from Keenan Spence, but the Bucs got seven runs in the fourth in a death-by-papercuts type of inning. Nine straight batters reached base for ETSU either by walk or single as they broke the game wide open. ETSU pitcher Michael Harpster took it from there by pitched seven innings and gave up just six hits in the win. Three Purdue errors also led to four unearned runs for ETSU after the big fourth inning.

The two losses drop Purdue to 25-15 overall with an RPI of 69 before a Wednesday game against Evansville. That makes for a make-or-break week if the Boilermakers want to make the NCAA Tournament. Purdue needs a 4-0 week to get back on track against competition it should beat. In the Big Ten race Purdue sits two games behind Illinois for first place after the weekend, and it is tied with Nebraska at 8-4. Northwestern is in last place at 2-10, so it is imperative that Purdue stacks some wins this coming weekend.

Softball Takes One from Northwestern

Speaking of Northwestern, Purdue softball dropped two of three at home to the Wildcats, but Saturday’s 2-1 win was Purdue’s first over a top 25 team since 2021. It was also just the second loss in conference play for the Wildcats.

Northwestern was dominant in game one, winning 9-0 in five innings as Purdue had just two hits. Game two was much different, as Tyrina Jones had a two-run double in the fourth and Purdue hung on to win 2-1. Kendall Klochack got her second save of the season with a scoreless seventh inning to preserve the victory.

On Sunday the Wildcats got two late runs in the sixth to tie the game at 3-3, then scored four in the ninth to take a 7-3 extra inning win. Jordyn Ramos drove in two in the second with a double, then Moriah Polar made it 3-1 with a groundout in the third. Angela Zedak had a two-run home run in the sixth to tie it, then Purdue left the winning run on base in the sixth, seventh, and eighth.

Purdue is now 22-22 overall and 9-7 in the Big Ten with two weeks to go in the regular season. That is already improvement over last year’s 23-30 season and 6-17 mark in the conference.

Women’s Golf Finishes Fourth at Big Ten Championships

Women’s Golf had its best finish at the Big Ten meet in eight years behind the -1 of Momo Suigyama. Jocelyn Branch had an even par weekend to give Purdue two finishers in the top 15 individually. As a team Purdue was tied with Michigan at even par and one behind Northwestern for third place. Indiana won the championship with a -8 by a stroke over Michigan State.

Men’s Golf Takes Third at Robert Kepler Intercollegiate

Men’s golf had a strong showing in Columbus as it finished third behind Indiana and Ohio State at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. Purdue was five strokes off the win despite competing without All-American Herman Sekne, who was competing in the Domincan Republic in a PGA event. It was a great tune-up for this weekend’s Big Ten championships, where Purdue will have Sekne available.

Women’s Tennis Beats Indiana

Women’s Tennis is now set for the Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor after beating Indiana 4-1 on Friday. Carmen Gallardo Guevera won at No. 1 singles in dominant fashion 6-2, 6-1, while Kennedy Gibbs, Ashlie Wilson, and Tara Katarina Milic also won their single matches.

Men’s Tennis Falls to Illinois & Northwestern

It was a rough weekend for men’s tennis, as it closed the regular season with road losses to the Illinois schools in Big Ten play. Daniel Labrador provided the only point for Purdue against Illinois in a 6-1 loss. Soham Purohit and Juan David Velasquez each earned wins against Northwestern.

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