EVANSTON -- In a matchup between the two teams in the Big Ten baseball cellar, the Northwestern Wildcats, thanks to some early scoring, cruised past the Purdue Boilermakers 7-3 on Friday afternoon at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park.
The Wildcats (11-34 overall, 3-16 Big Ten) -- who hadn't won a game since April 19 against Chicago State -- scored three runs apiece in the 1st and 2nd innings off Purdue starter Gavin Downs, who didn't make it past 1.2 innings. Northwestern starter Reed Mason gave up runs in the top of the 1st and 3rd but settled down after a solo home run by Kyle Wood made it 6-2 in favor of the Wildcats.