Struggles on the mound and in the field made the top of the ninth inning filled with moments to forget for IU.
Sophomore pitcher Cal Krueger failed to find the strike zone consistently and freshman infielder Justin Walker made a costly error, allowing the game-deciding runs to score in IU's 4-2 loss to Purdue on Friday at Bart Kaufman Field.
It was the Boilermakers' first win in Bloomington since 2010, and their first victory at Bart Kaufman Field, which opened in March 2013.
"They outplayed us and deserved to win," IU Coach Chris Lemonis said.
Krueger entered a 2-2 game in the ninth in relief of junior starting pitcher Jonathan Stiever, but IU's reliable relief pitcher wasn't himself.
He retired two Purdue batters while allowing a runner to reach second base before the real issues began.
The next three Boilermaker batters all reached base. Sophomore catcher Bryce Bonner, acting as a pinch hitter, was hit by a pitch before senior infielder Harry Shipley was walked to load the bases.
Then, Krueger induced a groundball to Walker, who failed to field it properly, as the ball struck his left shin and evaded his grasp as Purdue plated two runners.
"Poor Justin," Lemonis said. "He's such a good shortstop, he had made a couple great plays, and it's an error. I just grabbed him after the game and 'Just be ready to go tomorrow.'"
While Walker's error may have been uncommon, and just his second of the season, Krueger's struggles were perhaps even more of a surprise.
The Jasper, Indiana, native has been a consistent presence in the IU bullpen this season with an ERA of 1.56 prior to Friday's outing.
"I don't know what got into him today a little bit, maybe just a little excited," Lemonis said. "He's been our rock. He's been one of the keys to our team all year. To lose it there for a couple hitters is not normal for Cal. So I'll expect he'll be right back out there this weekend and pitch well."
The late-game mistakes came along with a poor offensive showing from the Hoosiers. Only four IU players managed a hit in Friday's loss and 10 IU runners were left on base in the game.
This meant Stiever's great showing was put to waste. For the second time this season, Stiever pitched eight innings while allowing two or fewer runs in an IU loss.
"I was able to get ahead, for the most part," Stiever said. "I had confidence in my stuff throughout the entire outing and just being able to execute the pitches."
His lone mistake of the afternoon came against Purdue junior infielder Jacson McGowan, who blasted a two-run home run to right field against Stiever in the fourth.
"That was a pretty, really bad pitch by me," Stiever said. "He just capitalized on it."
The home run by McGowan gave Purdue a 2-1 lead just a half inning after IU took the lead via an RBI groundout by Walker.
In the fifth inning IU tied the game, also thanks to Walker, on a sacrifice fly to second base that scored sophomore outfielder Matt Gorski. He made an aggressive base running play to slide safely into home plate from third base.
Manufacturing runs was necessary for IU, which recorded five hits in the game.
It was the team's lowest number of hits since its loss to Iowa on March 23.
Across all facets of the game, Lemonis said he will be leaning on the experience of his team for the remainder of the Purdue series, which continues at 2 p.m. Saturday.
"We take a lot of pride in our depth," Lemonis said. "So hopefully we can come out and play well, and we've bounced back before."
