PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball dropped its series finale to Purdue by a score of 5-3 on Sunday afternoon at Bainton Field. 

The Scarlet Knights (19-12, 1-5) dropped a third straight close decision to the Boilermakers (20-12, 5-4), who finished off the series sweep.

Purdue struck first, using back-to-back walks in the first and a pair of RBI singles to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. 

In the bottom of the second, RU got a run back when Pete Durocher crushed a solo home run to dead center, his first in a Rutgers uniform, making it 2-1. 

The Boilermakers added two more in the fourth on a two-run double, extending their lead to 4-1. 

After Purdue made a pitching change in the seventh, Tony Santa Maria singled into left-center to score Cameron Love and make it 4-2. The Scarlet Knights scored for the second straight inning on a solo home run from Josh Kuroda-Grauer to make it 4-3 after eight.

A two-out double in the top of the ninth gave the Boilermakers a big insurance run, pushing the advantage to 5-3. After a leadoff single for Durocher in the ninth, the next three RU batters were retired to end the game. 
 
Rutgers returns to action with a midweek game at Seton Hall on Tuesday before hosting Nebraska for a weekend series at Bainton Field.

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