Purdue exits NCAA baseball tourney

GARY – Thomas McCarthy had three hits and scored two runs as Kentucky eliminated Purdue from the Gary Regional with a 6-3 victory Sunday.

McCarthy scored his first run of the game on Cameron Flynn’s two-run single to center field in a four-run fourth inning that broke the game open.

Kentucky starter Corey Littrell threw 7 1/3 strong innings, including a five-pitch sixth inning that retired the heart of Purdue’s lineup. Littrell had seven strikeouts while walking two.

The Boilermakers (45-14) scored two runs in the first inning, but struggled to generate any offense until adding another run in the eighth inning. Purdue was playing in its first NCAA tournament since 1987.

Northrop graduate Tyler Spillner went 0 for 4 for Purdue.

In the regioanal title game, Evan Campbell hit a three-run home run and Kent State held off a Kentucky rally to defeat the Wildcats 3-2.

The victory gave the Golden Flashes (44-17) their first NCAA regional crown in school history. Kent State will travel to Oregon for the Super Regionals.

Campbell’s three-run blast was the first home run in more than 64 innings of play at the U.S. Steel Yard over the weekend.

The championship game was defined by strong starting pitching from both team as Kentucky’s Chandler Shepherd and Kent State’s Tyler Skulina kept the opposition scoreless through the first seven innings.

The Wildcats (45-18) answered Campbell’s three-run home run with two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, but were unable to complete the rally.

Kentucky and Kent State played a 21-inning game Friday night, which the Golden Flashes won 7-6.