Purdue baseball keeps NCAA Regional hopes alive with late comeback win against Illinois
The Boilermakers were struggling to generate scoring chances against Illinois’ ace but came up clutch late in the game.
Eli Anderson's two-run single in the bottom of the eighth gave Purdue baseball its first lead, and the Boilermakers staved off elimination with a 3-1 victory over Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament. Jake Kramer's perfect ninth inning closed out the win, which also kept Purdue 's regional at-large hopes alive. It will face the loser of Wednesday's game between Michigan State and Iowa on Thursday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
Purdue trailed 1-0 entering the eighth, having managed only two hits against Illinois ace Aidan Flinn. But Flinn hit Quincy Malbrough and Dylan Drake with one out, then walked Westin Boyle to load the bases. Reed Gannon relieved, and Anderson slapped an 0-1 pitch back up the middle to drive in Malbrough and Drake.
Boyle advanced to third, then scored when Brandon Rogers pushed a sacrifice squeeze bunt up the third-base line. "He likes to work middle away, and I was just trying to hit that ball up the middle or opposite field," Anderson said on Big Ten Network. "There's less than two outs, so I know I can hit the ball in the air or hit it hard through the hole, so that's what I was looking for.
" Kramer retired the Illini in order in the top of the ninth to record his 10th save. Starting pitcher Zach Erdman allowed one run on five hits over six innings, walking one and striking out four. Thomas Howard followed with a pair of scoreless innings and earned the relief victory.