Purdue came back to defeat Nebraska baseball in walk-off fashion Friday, 5-4. The win evened the final regular season series for both teams at a game a piece, though the Cornhuskers (27-27, 14-15 B1G) have clinched their bid to the Big Ten Tournament next week, while the Boilermakers (31-22, 11-18 B1G) have been mathematically eliminated from qualifying for the tournament.
Nebraska led 4-2 going to the bottom of the seventh inning. But in the last of the seventh, a sacrifice fly by Brandon Rogers cut the Huskers’ lead to one. Then in the bottom of the ninth, CJ Richmond hit a one-out double. Then with two outs, Brandon Anderson hit a two-run home run to boost Purdue to the victory.
It started good for the Huskers. Gabe Swansen singled through the left side to drive in the first run of the game. The Boilermakers scored a run in the third and one in the fourth to take a 2-1 lead. But in the top of the fifth, Riley Silva drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly. Then in the top of the seventh, Devin Nunez clubbed a two-run home run to right-center to give Nebraska a 4-2 lead before Purdue mounted its comeback.
Isaac Milburn (3-5) earned the win out of the bullpen, throwing 2.2 shutout innings while allowing one hit, no walks and four strikeouts. Jalen Worthley (2-1) took the loss after allowing the game-ending home run.
The Huskers and Boilermakers close out the regular season Saturday at 1 p.m. Pregame coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. on KLIN.