May 14, 2015
| 2 | 8 |
| Alexander Field | West Lafayette, Ind. | Attn: 819 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| VIDEO: Postgame Comments |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue produced timely hits and took advantage of Penn State miscues to defeat the Nittany Lions, 8-2, in Big Ten baseball action Thursday evening on Alexander Field.
Penn State (18-29, 6-15 Big Ten) had hits from all but one starter, totaling just one less than Purdue's nine, but stranded 11 base runners to Purdue's six.
The heart of Purdue's (19-34, 5-17 Big Ten) lineup - third baseman Brandon Krieg, first baseman Kyle Wood and centerfielder Kyle Johnson - led the Boilermaker offense, as each tallied a pair of RBI's. Krieg went 3-for-4, while Johnson went 2-for-4.
The Boilermakers struck first in the second inning, as left fielder Brett Carlson followed a Kyle Johnson triple with a sacrifice fly. A two-out walk drawn by shortstop Harry Shipley keyed a two-run third inning, as Krieg and Wood followed with RBI-singles. Krieg stuck again in the fifth inning, hitting a double following a two-out error to drive in an unearned run for a 4-0 lead.
Penn State halved the deficit in the seventh inning with a pinch-hit, RBI-single by J.J. White (Lansdowne, Va.) and a sacrifice fly from right fielder Aaron Novak (Ambler, Pa.), but Purdue broke the game open with four runs in the bottom half. The first run scored on an error and Johnson drove in two more on a single.
LHP Nick Hedge (3-7) suffered the loss, as he was charged with six runs (five earned) on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts. RHP Shane Bryant (3-3) earned the win, allowing the two runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
The loss eliminated Penn State from contention for a berth in the eight-team Big Ten tournament.
The two teams will continue the series Friday at 6:30 p.m. on BTN Plus and conclude it Sunday starting at 1:00 p.m.