Boilermakers Country

Purdue Baseball Swept By Maryland in Weekend Series

Senior Ben Nisle brought in every run for the Boilermakers this weekend, but Maryland swept Purdue in its home stadium. Purdue falls to 11-24 on the season.

D.J. Fezler

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue baseball traveled to Shipley Field at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium in College Park, Maryland for a three-game series this weekend. Despite scoring first in two of the matchups, the Boilermakers were plagued by missed opportunities and couldn't keep up with the Terrapins on the scoreboard.

Purdue senior Ben Nisle found individual success all weekend, bringing in every run scored for the Boilermakers over the three days. But Maryland blasted at least one home run in every game at their home stadium as Purdue dropped every meeting of the series.

The Boilermakers are now riding a four-game losing streak and sit at 11-24 on the season. Purdue will go on the road against Minnesota for another three-game series this upcoming weekend.

Here's a recap of Purdue's performances from the past three days:

Friday, May 14: Purdue 0, Maryland 11

Nisle opened up the series for Purdue with three hits, but the Boilermakers' pitching staff faltered in the first inning by giving up five runs to start the game.

Maryland senior Justin Vought stood at the plate with Purdue junior Calvin Schapira on the mound and two outs on the board in the bottom of the first. The Terrapins already scored one run when Vought attempted his first at-bat.

With the bases loaded, he hammered a deep shot to center field for a grand slam and brought the score to 5-0 before the second inning. Purdue wasn't able to recover and failed to register a single run in response to the quick deficit.

Nisle was responsible for three of the Boilermakers' seven total hits, but the team left 10 runners on base as the Terrapins brought home six more runs between the fourth and seventh innings. 

Senior Ben Simington had four at-bats for himself but couldn't manage a hit and left five runners on base. Purdue fell in the first game of the series by a score of 11-0.

Schapira finished his outing with 4 2/3 innings pitched while allowing 12 hits and nine runs. He only managed two strikeouts and is now 0-6 on the mound this season.

Saturday, May 15: Purdue 1, Maryland 6

Purdue started the second game of its series with Maryland by striking first in the opening inning for the first time since April 19 against Illinois. Nisle singled to center field, which brought home Simington. 

But even with an early lead, Maryland fought back with the help of a trio of solo home runs. This time, the Boilermakers managed to match the number of hits registered by the Terrapins but left another eight runners on base.

Maryland — with Big Ten wins leader Jason Savacool on the mound — kept Purdue scoreless for the remaining eight innings. Savacool pitched six innings and gave up seven hits and Purdue's lone run.

For the Boilermakers, senior Trent Johnson took the mound for six innings but gave up eight hits and five of the Terrapins six runs. After the 6-1 loss, Purdue entered the series finale having only won three Sunday games all season.

Sunday, May 16: Purdue 2, Maryland 7

Purdue scored first for the second game in a row in the series finale against Maryland. Nisle was once again responsible for the run after grounding out and recording his second RBI of the series. 

But Maryland responded by bringing in four runs in the bottom of the first, powering the Terrapins to a 7-2 victory. It wasn't until Nisle registered a two-out double at the top of the sixth inning that Purdue got back on the board. 

It was Nisle's third double of the series and seventh extra-base hit during his current seven-game hit streak. Nisle finished 2-for-4 on the day and 6-for-11 in the series. The two runs for the Boilermakers on Sunday doubled the team's total from the previous two days. 

Purdue only struck out 19 times this weekend, which was one shy of a season-low in a three-game series. The Boilermakers struck out 18 times against Rutgers between March 26 and March 28. 

The team travels to Minnesota this upcoming weekend and will look to add to its season win total against the last-place Golden Gophers. Minnesota has won just four games this season. 

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D.J. Fezler
D.J. FEZLER

D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball. 

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