IOWA CITY, Iowa (Interstat) — Joey Nerat homered twice and drove in five runs to lead Iowa to a 10-7 victory over Purdue on Thursday night at Duane Banks Field.

Nerat’s second home run, a three-run shot in the fifth inning, broke a 7-7 tie and gave the Hawkeyes the lead for good. He finished 2-for-4 with his fourth and fifth home runs of the season. Iowa improved to 27-21 overall and 10-12 in Big Ten play. Purdue fell to 34-16 and 10-8.

The Boilermakers jumped out to an early lead. Brandon Rogers singled to start the game and was caught stealing, but Purdue scored in the first inning when Avery Moore doubled and Sam Flores doubled to right center, driving in Moore. The second inning saw Purdue add five more runs. After a strikeout and a single, a throwing error by Iowa shortstop Kooper Schulte allowed a run to score, and a passed ball advanced a runner. Jacob Manias singled in a run, then Moore tripled to drive in two more, giving Purdue a 6-0 lead. Flores walked but the inning ended with a fly out.

Iowa got on the board in the bottom of the second. Jaixen Frost doubled and scored on a single by Brenden Swails. The Hawkeyes cut the deficit to 6-2 in the third when Nolan Risley singled, stole second, and scored on a double by Gable Wulf.

Purdue answered in the fourth when Rogers homered to left field, his sixth of the season, making it 7-2. But Iowa’s offense erupted in the bottom of the fourth. Frost doubled and scored on a double by Max Strohmeyer. After a fly out, Nerat homered to left field, a two-run shot that cut the lead to 7-5. Schulte followed with a solo home run, his ninth, trimming the margin to 7-6. Gable Mitchell then tripled, and after a pitching change for Purdue, Risley hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 7.

In the bottom of the fifth, Iowa took the lead for good. Frost singled, advanced to second on a throwing error on a failed pickoff attempt, and moved to third on a fielder’s choice. After a replay review confirmed the call at third, Nerat homered to right field, driving in three runs to make it 10-7. The Hawkeyes added no more runs, but their bullpen held Purdue scoreless over the final four innings.

Iowa starter Kyle Alivo earned the win, pitching five innings and allowing four hits and one earned run while striking out nine. Justin Hackett worked two innings of relief, giving up three hits and one earned run with three strikeouts. For Purdue, Jarvis Evans pitched three scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing no hits, but the Boilermakers could not overcome the deficit.

Avery Moore led Purdue with three hits and two RBIs. Rogers finished 2-for-4 with a home run. Sam Flores had two hits including a double and an RBI. Brayden Swiderski also had two hits and drove in a run. For Iowa, Frost collected three hits and scored three runs. Schulte added two hits including a home run. Mitchell had two hits and scored once.

The game featured 29 combined hits — 15 for Iowa and 14 for Purdue — and two pitching changes for each team. The Boilermakers left seven runners on base, while Iowa stranded eight.

Purdue entered the game having won its previous series against Indiana, taking two of three games at home. Iowa came in after being swept at Nebraska, losing all three games by a combined score of 33-17. The two teams continue their series with games Friday and Saturday at Duane Banks Field.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Purdue 8, Iowa 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Iowa with a 56.60 percent probability to win.