It is still relatively early, but this weekend’s baseball series with Michigan is a significant test for the Boilermakers. After a 12-8 midweek win over Milwaukee Purdue enters the weekend at 18-2. The fast start has come as the result of a weaker schedule, but the series win at Minnesota two weeks ago was an important start to conference play. Now Purdue hosts Michigan in a major test to see if it will be in the Big Ten race all season.

The Wolverines enter at 11-9 overall, and they are the first team Purdue will play with a winning record. They are 3-3 in the Big Ten after winning a series against Illinois 2-1 and losing a home series to USC last week 2-1. The opened tie season with a win over No. 22 Virginia and they played No. 3 Arkansas to an 8-6 game on February 23rd.

Series Schedule:

Friday 4pm, Saturday 2pm, Sunday 1pm at Alexander Field

Purdue enters the weekend as the best hitting team in the conference with a team average of .322. Lukas Cook of Purdue is the top overall hitter with a .462 average, while Logan Sutter has cooled to a mere .444 average, good enough for third place. Michigan’s Mitch Volt is just behind him at .432.

Michigan is 11th in hitting, so Purdue’s pitching staff should have an edge. The Boilermakers lead the Big Ten currently in ERA at 3.36 and teams are hitting .246. Again, this is against very weak competition (Purdue has had one of the easiest schedules in the country to date), but it is still impressive.

Carter Doorn has been excellent at the top of the rotation. He is 4-0 in his Friday starts with a miserly 0.36 ERA across 25 innings. Easton Storey has also been good with a 2-0 record and 3.47 ERA.

This weekend is basically a test for Purdue. A series win means Purdue can compete all season long in the Big Ten. It sets things up for a huge series in West Lafayette next weekend against UCLA, who is 16-4 and one of the top teams in the conference. After that, the only true conference contender Purdue plays is Penn State on the road April 18-20.

Boiler Upload is an affiliate partner with Homefield Apparel, a premium collegiate apparel brand based in Indianapolis. They feature licensed vintage designs for over 150 different colleges and universities from the Colorado School of Mines all the way to most of the Big Ten. This, of course, includes Purdue. I can speak from experience that their Purdue line is fabulous, including the awesome 1967 Rose Bowl retro tee. Visit Homefield and use code BOILERUPLOAD for a discount on their unique designs.

Also, what is up with Gregg Berhalter and the Chicago Fire?