Hoosiers win final game against Purdue

If the baseball team can't win a weekend series against an opponent, it will gladly go after a series split -- especially if the opponent is in-state rival Purdue.\nWith explosive hitting that compensated for erratic pitching, the Hoosiers tied their four-game series with the No. 29 Boilermakers with a 14-7 win Sunday at Sembower Field. The Boilermakers (26-18, 16-6 Big Ten) remain in second place in the Big Ten after Ohio State (34-11, 15-5 Big Ten) swept former conference leader Minnesota in four games this weekend. IU (22-25-1, 5-14 Big Ten) remains in last place in the Big Ten.\nThe Hoosiers won the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against Purdue 2-0 but lost Friday's game 10-6 and Saturday's second game 1-0.\nThe last-place Hoosiers' ability to take two of four games from the second-place Boilermakers shows parity within the Big Ten, coach Bob Morgan said.\n"Top to bottom, there's not much difference between the teams," Morgan said. "It's so competitive, it's such a great league. Look at this weekend series here. If we took one inning away, we've got three out of four from them."\nThe one inning Morgan referred to was the inning Purdue scored its winning run of Saturday's second game -- a 1-0 Boilermaker victory. While Saturday's doubleheader belonged to pitching, Sunday's game was highly offensive, as both teams combined for 36 hits. IU led 5-0 after the first two innings, but Purdue scored four runs in the fourth and fifth innings. The Hoosiers secured the win with seven runs in the sixth innings.\nJunior Zach Otte (3-2) picked up the win after allowing two earned runs and one walk in three innings. Sophomore designated hitter Nick Evans led the team with four hits and two doubles.\n"I think everyone on this team has had a feeling all through this year that we're not a last-place team," Evans said. "We knew we were better than that, and we showed that this weekend."\nWhile 10 pitchers were used in Sunday's game, only four pitchers worked both games of Saturday's doubleheader. Each of the four starting pitchers pitched complete games. Otte (8-3, 4.40 ERA) earned the win in the first game, as he allowed only two hits, one walk and struck out seven.\nOtte also earned the pitching staff's first win for a starter in the conference. Before Otte's victory, the starting pitchers had lost eight games.\n"I was throwing a lot of strikes, hitting my fastball, getting the breaking ball in for strikes and basically never falling behind in the count," Otte said. "I felt in a zone from the beginning, and Purdue helped me whenever I made a bad pitch by being real aggressive and swinging at a lot of balls, getting themselves out."\nThe Hoosiers dropped the second game Saturday as the Boilermakers held on to their one run in the first inning. IU managed two hits -- both singles -- while sophomore Jacob Cary (0-4, 4.53 ERA) pitched his first collegiate complete game with no walks and six strikeouts.\nPurdue stole the first game of the series 10-6 Friday. IU led 6-3 in the fifth inning, but the Boilermakers retaliated with seven runs in the final four innings. The Boilers tagged sophomore reliever Nick Vitielliss for two runs in 1 1/3 innings to give him the loss. Purdue's Ben Quick pitched a complete game for the win. Senior Blake St. Clair led IU with three RBIs and one run.\nAfter dropping a significant lead to Purdue Friday, the Hoosiers executed their opportunities Sunday.\n"We pitched out of a few jams with the bases loaded," Morgan said. "We squelched some of their opportunities, so it's a good day. Anytime we beat Purdue, it's a good day"