2014 Black & Gold Series Stats: Black | Gold
Order Season Tickets at Alexander Field
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- With the season-opening weekend only three weeks away, Purdue baseball began official preseason practice Friday evening with a variety of drills and a scrimmage indoors in the Mollenkopf Athletic Center.
The Boilermakers get their 2015 season underway the weekend of Feb. 13-15 with a three-game series at Western Carolina. Feb. 1 falling on a Sunday this year has led to the earliest start date in program history. With the national uniform start date (which has been in place since 2008) calling for the regular season to begin on the third weekend of February, a season opener before Valentine's Day has become a reality this year. The 2013 season began on Feb. 15, which at the time was the Boilers' earliest opener ever, eclipsing 2001 (Feb. 16).
Purdue was scheduled to open on Valentine's Day last year but didn't end up playing its first game until Feb. 16 due to weather delays that also impacted the team's travel to Knoxville. The 1997 team opened on Feb. 17.
So far, the winter of 2015 has been far tamer than its predecessor. Mollenkopf and the Madia Training Facility at Alexander Field continue to provide Purdue with options on where and when they practice. And while the southern schools may be able to practice outdoors sooner, the uniform start date assures they cannot play an official game until their northern counterparts have the same opportunity.
The Boilermakers will travel south for their first four non-conference weekends this season. Along with traditional three-game series at Western Carolina and Oklahoma (March 7-9), the early-season schedule also includes four-game tournaments in Corpus Christi (Feb. 20-22) and Phoenix (Feb. 26-March 1). During both weekends, three of the four games will be neutral-site affairs. Purdue only played one neutral-site game in 2014 (a March 1 win vs. Butler in Birmingham), and even that contest was a late addition to the schedule after weather canceled a series at Missouri State.
The tournaments in Corpus Christi and Phoenix will be played in a minor league stadium and a field with longstanding MLB spring training ties, respectively. Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi is home to the Houston Astros double-A affiliate in the Southern League. Arizona State is now playing all of its home games at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, which most recently served as the spring training home of the Oakland A's.
Matt Gibbs & Kyle Johnson discuss the start of practice
Twenty-five of the Boilers' 50 games last season were decided by two runs or fewer. Eight of those games went into extra innings, the most during Doug Schreiber's tenure as head coach (1999-present). Purdue managed just a 9-16 record in those close games. But with six starters returning along with almost the entire bullpen, many of the players that experienced those numerous tight games and game-deciding moments in the late innings are back a year older and a year wiser. That experience coupled with a less daunting pre-conference schedule than last season should allow the Boilers get off to a better start. Purdue carried a 3-16 record into its home opener a year ago.
And speaking of home games, there are expected to be many more of them this spring. The Boilermakers played 19 games at Alexander Field during the inaugural season of the new ballpark in 2013. Purdue managed to win two more home games last year despite playing three fewer. Twenty-five home dates and six home weekends populate the schedule this season. And with the weather being reasonable so far in 2015, rolling the dice on being able to play the numerous mid-March home games seems more reasonable. Around the Big Ten, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska and Ohio State are also scheduled to play home series the weekend of March 13-15.
After being constants in the middle of the lineup for the Boilers last season, Kyle Johnson and Kyle Wood are back for their junior seasons fresh off helping lead their summer league teams to championships in the Coastal Plain and Northwoods Leagues, respectively. The newcomers on the roster are expected to feature a group of nine transfers. Among them there are guys who have played in the NCAA Regionals and the NJCAA Division II World Series.
On Feb. 11, the Big Ten Conference office will release the top six teams in the preseason coaches poll as well as three players to watch from all 13 teams. Purdue will host both of the Big Ten newcomers, Maryland (April 24-26) and Rutgers (March 20-22), this season.
Bring on spring.
Receive Purdue Baseball news via email. Sign up HERE.