The Illinois baseball team opened its Big Ten season on the right foot, beating Purdue 14-13 in West Lafayette, Ind., on Friday.

The Illini busted out of the gate with a six run first inning and took advantage of four errors committed by the Boilermakers to pull out their first Big Ten win and pull within one game of .500.

Illini senior right fielder Ryan Snowden was 4-for-5 in the game and junior second baseman Ryan Hastings belted his second home run of the season to lead the Orange and Blue.

Leading 13-4 going into the seventh inning, the Illini looked to have the game in the bag, but the Boilermakers made things interesting, scoring four runs in the seventh and five in the eighth to pull within one. But Purdue’s comeback would fall short as Illini senior closer Jake Toohey held off the Boilermakers in the ninth to pick up his first save of the season.

The two ball clubs will play a doubleheader on Saturday. Sophomore’s Mike Stankiewicz and Scott Shaw will take the mound in the games for the Illini.

Check back with DailyIllini.com for more updates about the team