Hawkeyes Sweep Boilermakers

DES MOINES, Iowa – The University of Iowa baseball team swept the Purdue Boilermakers, 15-9, on Saturday afternoon at Principal Park presented by 1-800-BETS OFF.

“We minimized the give early. Logan Runde came in and gave us a big five innings. He is exactly what we needed, somebody to slow the game down and give us some real innings. The double plays were big for us this weekend, which were great to see. On the bats, the guys were disciplined and patient and hit when they got them. That has been the peaks and valleys of our offense this year,” said head coach Rick Heller.

Purdue struck first with a run in the top of the first, but Iowa answered in the bottom half of the inning. Senior Caleb Wulf doubled to right field, scoring senior Miles Risley to even the game at 1-1.

The Hawkeyes broke things open in the fifth, taking a 6-1 lead. Senior Joey Nerat doubled to right field to bring home senior Ben Swails, before Risley launched a grand slam to left field to give Iowa the advantage. Purdue added a run in the third and two more in the fourth.

Iowa extended its lead with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Wulf added another RBI double to score Risley, and Nerat followed with a single through the left side to bring in redshirt sophomore Jaxien Frost and Swails.

In the sixth, Risley hit his second home run of the game to push the lead to 10-4. Purdue added two runs in the seventh, but Iowa responded with three of its own. Nerat doubled to center to score Swails and graduate student Matthew Delgado, before redshirt freshman Brett White scored on a wild pitch to make it 13-6.

In the bottom of the eighth, Swails hit a two-run home run. Purdue answered with three runs in the top of the ninth, but the Hawkeyes held on to secure the win.

Freshman Brady Ferguson started the game for Iowa. Freshman Brolan Frost earned the win in relief, tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Senior Logan Runde pitched five innings for the Hawkeyes with three strikeouts, while graduate student Joe Husak pitched 1 2/3 innings. Senior Ganon Archer came in to close it out.

OF NOTE…
- This series marks the most hits in a weekend under Coach Heller surpassing the previous mark of 50 in four games vs. Maryland/Northwestern in 2021.
- Iowa scored a season-high 39 runs in a series, surpassing its previous mark of 31 set against Penn State and at the MLB Classic.
- Risley finished the regular season with eight home runs, with his seventh and eighth coming in the game.
- Swails hit his fifth home run of the season.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes head to the Big Ten Tournament on Tuesday. Iowa will be the No. 8 seed and will face No. 9 seed Illinois.