Purdue Baseball Faces Akron
After two weekends Purdue baseball its at 5-3 on the year. It took three of four from Holy Cross during the season's opening weekend. Last week they faced a decent NJIT team in Holly Springs, North Carolina and split four games. This week the team is back in Holly Springs for four more games against Akron before the seasons gets real in a hurry with a trip to defending National Champion Mississippi.
Last season the Zips were a pretty dismal 14-39, but so far this season they have shown improvement. They are 3-4 after splitting four games at Western Carolina and losing two of three at Elon.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Akron (3-4, 15-41 in 2022) vs. Purdue (5-3, 29-21 in 2022)
4-Game Series / Friday to Sunday, March 3 to 5Ting Stadium / Holly Springs, N.C.Series
Opener: Friday, March 3 at 1 p.m. ET
Doubleheader: Saturday, March 4 1 p.m.
Series Finale: Sunday, March 5 at 1 p.m.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: Khal Stephen (So, RHP) vs. Akron's Sammy Tortorella (Jr, LHP)
Saturday Game 1: Jonathan Blackwell (Jr, LHP) vs. Akron's Spencer Atkins (Jr, RHP)
Saturday Game 2: Kyle Iwinski (Jr, RHP) vs. TBA for Akron's Anthony Fett (Jr, LHP)
Sunday: TBA for Purdue vs. Akron's Joe Roth (Fr, RHP)
Purdue is switching up the pitching rotation a little. Iwinski will get his first start on the season. He has a 1.23 ERA in three appearances out of the bullpen over the first eight games. That has come in 7 1/3 innings. Calvin Schapira and CJ Backer will likely be in consideration for the Sunday start.
In Akron Purdue will see a familiar face in the opposing lineup. Jack Firestone, a Zionsville native who played the last three seasons in West Lafayette and appeared in 42 games, has been solid at the plate to start the year. He is batting .296 with 3 home runs and 6 RBI. Ian Pennington is also a hot bat with a .321 average and a home run with 7 RBI. As a team Akron is batting only .228, so it could be a great weekend for Purdue's starting pitching to get back on track.
Purdue's bats should have a good weekend too. Akron's team ERA is well over 7 and they have given up six runs or more in all but one game. Joe Roth, their Sunday starter, has been the best with a 2.79 ERA and an 0-1 record over 9 2/3 innings. Emmitt Gillies has a save in four appearances out of the bullpen.
On paper, this is a series Purdue needs to sweep. Holy Cross is 1-7 on the year with their only win coming against Purdue, but Akron is not a team with a lot of pitching. The Boilermaker bats have been much better with Couper Cornblum and Jake Jarvis each batting .375. Paul Toetz cooled off after a red hot opening weekend, but Evan Albrecht and Jo Jarvis are both over .300. Purdue's team average of .287 gives them a solid edge heading into the weekend.