Purdue Baseball Hosts Indiana for Critical Big Ten Series

History has not often been kind to Purdue baseball. The Boilermakers have only won the Big Ten twice in the 125+ year history of the program. The first was in 1909. The second did not come until 2012. Purdue has also only played in the NCAA Tournament three times: 1987, 2012, and 2018. Both of those factors mean this weekend provides a unique atmosphere at Alexander Field.

Purdue hosts Indiana with both an NCAA Tournament bid and the Big Ten title very much on the line. Both teams are in the middle of a tight race for the conference title, as the top five teams are separated by just one game with three weeks to go. Purdue and Illinois are in first place at 11-4, while Indiana, Michigan, and Nebraska are a game back at 10-5. Michigan is at Michigan State this weekend, Ohio State is at Illinois, and Nebraska is at Minnesota.

The Boilermakers are also currently one of the final teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament according to Baseball America and D1Baseball.com. Baseball America has Purdue as the 3 seed in the four-team Knoxville Regional hosted by Tennessee, while D1Baseball has Purdue as the 3 seed playing in nearby Terre Haute hosted by Indiana State.

None of that happens without finishing the deal though. Purdue is currently 30-15 overall after blowing out DePauw 15-0 on Wednesday. It has 10 games left overall, and it probably needs to win at least six of them to have a shot going into the Big Ten Tournament. Purdue will control its own destiny for the Big Ten title, as it plays Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois in its final three series.

Indiana (25-18-1, 10-5 Big Ten) at Purdue (30-15, 11-4 Big Ten)

Friday to Sunday, May 3-5 / Watch B1G+

Series Opener: Friday, May 3 at 6 p.m. ET

Middle Game: Saturday, May 4 at 2 p.m. ET

Series Finale: Sunday, May 5 at 1 p.m.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

Friday: Jordan Morales (Grad, LHP) vs. IU's Brandon Keyster (R-So, LHP)

Saturday: Luke Wagner (Sr, LHP) vs. IU's Connor Foley (So, RHP)

Sunday: TBA for both teams

Last season Indiana was dominant against Purdue in Bloomington. The Hoosiers swept Purdue 26-11, 15-3, and 10-2 as they eventually made the NCAA Tournament. Once there, they won games against West Virginia and Kentucky before losing twice to Kentucky to be eliminated.

So far this season Indiana has been up and down. They were one of the preseason contenders in the conference and they were briefly in the top 25 after getting off to a 6-1 start against solid competition. They then hit a bit of a lull with a bad loss to Purdue-Fort Wayne, a home series loss to Illinois, and a four-game split with Butler. Lately they have been one of the better teams in the conference. They are coming off of a sweep of Rutgers in Bloomington and they took two of three from Minnesota, Penn State, and Maryland before that.

Like Purdue, Indiana has been hot at the plate. They averaged more than 10 runs per game in the month of April and they were led by Nick Mitchell and Joey Brenczewski each hitting over .400 for the month. Carter Mathison also has 40 career home runs and is approaching the Indiana career record. Tyler Cerny is also a solid hitter with a .332 average.

Overall, these teams are very even, so it should be a fantastic series. Indiana is fifth in the conference overall with a team average of .302, while Purdue is just behind them at .298. Purdue’s pitching is second in the league with a team ERA of 4.64, while Indiana is near the bottom at 6.68.

Purdue will be without Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Luke Gaffney for Friday’s game, as he is serving the final game of a three-game suspension earned when he was ejected late in last Saturday’s game at Northwestern. He is second in the conference right now with a .412 average and he leads the league with 60 RBI. He is tied with teammate Connor Caskenette in that category.

Record crowds are also expected at Alexander Field this weekend, only adding to the atmosphere. On Wednesday night Purdue had a program record 2,569 fans in attendance, and that mark is expected to be broken this weekend. Purdue has won a program record 10 straight Big Ten game as well, so it has a ton of momentum entering the weekend. A series win gives them a major edge going into the final two weeks of the race.

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