Friday at West Lafayette, IU coach Tracy Smith got some of that power he's been looking for in recent weeks, but it wasn't enough as his Hoosiers fell 4-2 to Purdue.
Sophomore right fielder Chris Hervey hit his first career home run, just IU's second dinger of the year, in the third inning to deep left to give them the 1-0 lead.
But as soon as the Hoosiers scored, the Boilermakers responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
Knotted up at one, sophomore second baseman Evan Crawford hit an RBI single to left that brought Hervey home in the fifth, IU 2-1.
But it wasn't to be for the Hoosiers as Purdue scored two more runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh, claiming the 4-2 win.
The loss dropped IU to 13-15 overall and 3-6 in conference. Sophomore starter Tyler Tufts got the loss, throwing all eight innings. Hervey finished 2-for-4 with an RBI while scoring both of IU's runs.
The Hoosiers will try to bounce back with a Saturday doubleheader, first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
