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.
Purdue went into the final weekend of the regular season potentially on the positive side of the NCAA tournament bubble. Losing three games at Iowa made multiple wins in Omaha this week essential for postseason hopes.
The Boilers are 36-19 entering another elimination game Thursday. With a victory, they would advance to face No. 1 seed UCLA in Friday’s quarterfinals.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue baseball keeps NCAA Regional hopes alive with late comeback win against Illinois
Reporting by Nathan Baird, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
