Fifth-seeded Purdue baseball eliminated eighth-seeded Iowa with an 8-1 victory in the Big Ten Tournament elimination game on Thursday at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
The Boilermakers improved to 37-19 and will face top seed UCLA in the quarterfinals on Friday. Iowa ended its season at 33-23.
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Purdue pitchers Austin Klug and Jarvis Evans limited the Hawkeyes to six hits and one unearned run, bouncing back from a regular-season sweep by Iowa the previous weekend.
Iowa took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Jaixen Frost singled to drive in Miles Risley.
Purdue responded with eight unanswered runs, sparked by a two-run triple from Dylan Drake.
Purdue head coach Greg Goff adjusted the signs before Drake's go-ahead hit. Drake credited the change for allowing him to drive the ball into the gap.
"Yesterday, that game was very close, and we fought hard, and that put us in a good mood for today," Drake said.
Klug pitched into the fifth inning, inducing two double plays to erase leadoff runners. Evans earned the relief victory.
"We know we're good," Klug said. "We know we can come out and put up some zeroes for the squad."
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Iowa head coach Rick Heller praised his team's resilience after a mid-season slump following a series against USC.
"After USC, it looked like we were dead in the water without a chance to make the tournament, but we found a way to right the ship and win a bunch of games to get here and even end up with a decent seed in a year when the league is really good," Heller said.
Heller highlighted the senior-led roster's defensive execution, calling it one of the best defensive teams he has coached.
"This was one of the best defensive teams I've ever coached," Heller said. "Just a great group of older players that wouldn't let the program go backward."
Iowa finished conference play at 15-15.
Kellen Strohmeyer went 3-for-3 in the finale, and Caleb Wulf reached second place in program history with 89 single-season hits.
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Friday's quarterfinal matchups also include USC vs. Michigan State, Nebraska vs. Michigan, and Oregon vs. Washington.
