Indiana Baseball: Purdue Thumps Hoosiers 17-0 in Series Opener; Doubleheader on Sunday

Indiana hitters got shut down by Purdue starter Jackson Smeltz and the game got away from them with an ugly 10-run eighth inning in a 17-0 loss on Saturday in West Lafayette to start a three-game series between the two in-state rivals.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Indiana's pitching woes continued on Saturday against Purdue, but the offense was nonexistent as well in an ugly 17-0 loss to the Boilermakers at Alexander Field.

Indiana hitters had no answer for Purdue starter Jackson Smeltz, who had a career-high 13 strikeouts over eight innings of one-hit ball. The 17-run margin of victory was the largest in the history of the rivalry, matching Purdue wins in 1923 and 2006. 

Smeltz, a redshirt junior from Lafayette who is now 5-0 on the season for Purdue, struck out five in a row at one point and 13 of the 27 batters he faced overall, posting his fourth double-figure total of the season. He matched the most strikeouts ever by a Purdue lefthander, tying David Gassner’s total in a March 1999 game against Wright State that ranks third most overall in team history.

Purdue is now 4-1 all-time against Indiana at Alexander Field. Dating back to 2007, the Boilermakers are 16-4 vs. Indiana in games played away from Bloomington.

Indiana's only hit off of Smeltz was a leadoff single in the fourth inning by shortstop Phillip Glasser, but Bobby Whalen hit into a double play in the next at-bat.  

Smeltz threw 121 pitches on Saturday and frustrated Indiana hitters throughout the game. He struck out five Hoosiers hitters his first time through the lineup and whiffed 10 of the first 18 batters he faced.

Tyler Doanes and Glasser had singles for Indiana to start the ninth inning, but the game ended with Matthew Ellis hit int a double play.

Indiana (11-17, 1-3 in the Big Ten) has struggled on the mound all year, but starter Jack Perkins has been one of the few bright spots. Purdue got to him for six earned runs in six innings. Perkins is now 2-2 on the season, with a 4.71 ERA.

The game really got away from Indiana in the bottom of the eighth, when Purdue sent 13 hitters to the plate and scored 10 runs. Luke Hayden walked two batters and hit another, and threw three wild pitches before departing. All three runners scored. David Platt came in and did the same thing, facing three batters and walking two and hitting a batter. All those of those Boilers scored as well. 

Joe Moran came in and hit two more batters, plus gave up two hits before getting the final two outs. One of the hits was a three-run homer by Ryan Howe, a senior from Mount Prospect, Ill. 

Hayden now has a 9.00 ERA, Platt is at 13.50 and Moran is at 37.80. Moran has pitched 3 1/3 innings this season and given up 14 earned runs. Indiana's entire pitching staff has a 7.22 earned run average through 28 games, by far the worst in the Big Ten. 

The two teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday. The first game starts at 1 p.m. ET

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