Just twoweeks ago Purdue was leading the Big Ten. As recently as last Saturday the Boilers were only ame out of first place with a pending series against leader Illinois at the end of the schedule. After five straight losses the Boilermakers are limping into the Big Ten Tournament with no chance at the NCAA Tournament aside from the autobid.

Illinois closed out the Big Ten regular season title by sweeping Purdue in West Lafayette this weekend. On Friday Purdue led 2-1 enering the seventh, but gave up seven runs in the seventh on its way to a 9-4 loss. Camden Janik had a grand slam in the inning that provided the big blow.

Today the pitching fell completely apart as the Illini won an 18-10 slugfest despite a three-home run inning from Purdue. Illinois had another huge inning with eight runs in the sixth to win going away.

Still, there is a shot at redemption, as Purdue did qualify for the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha as one of the top eight teams in the conference. It will get a rematch with Indiana at 11am Wednesday. Purdue lost two out of three games against the Hoosiers just a few weeks ago in West Lafayette, with the deciding game going 5-4 in favor of Indiana after Purdue collapsed with a 4-1 ninth inning lead.

Purdue's struggles in one-run games were the difference this season. They were 0-4 in one-run games in conference play and they lost a game at Ohio State 12-10 on a walk-off three-run home run. That was particularly acute the last few weeks as Purdue lost three one-run games in their last seven in the conference.

The Big Ten Tournament is a double elimination affair, so Purdue is guaranteed to paly on Tuesday and Wednesday at minimum. Purdue's second game will come agaisnt Ohio State or Nebraska on Wednesday. The Boilers were 1-2 vs. Ohio State, but did not play Nebraska.

Overall, Purdue was 4-11 against teams that made the field in Omaha and 9-0 against the rest of the conference.

Illinois and Nebraska are probably the only locks for the NCAA Tournament in the field. The other six teams likely need to win the autobid to keep playing, so it should be an exciting field.

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