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Season Preview Interview Videos with Schreiber & Players
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday: Gavin Downs (Jr, RHP) vs. WCU's Bryan Sammons (So, LHP)
Saturday: Brett Haan (Sr, RHP) vs. WCU's Brendan Nail (Fr, LHP)
Sunday: Matt Frawley (So, RHP) vs. WSU's Dillon Bray (So, LHP)
Weekend Weather Forecast for Cullowhee, N.C.
Friday: 39 degrees, clear skies
Saturday: 47 degrees, clear skies
Sunday: 29 degrees, clear skies
Series History
All-Time: Purdue leads 2-1
All-Time Series in Cullowhee: First Meeting
Purdue Under Doug Schreiber vs. WCU: Purdue leads 1-0 (Since 1999)
Last Meeting: Purdue 14, WCU 7 (Feb. 26, 2012 in Greenville, N.C.)
1987 NCAA Tournament: WCU 8, Purdue 7 (May 22 in Starkville, Miss.)
First Meeting: Purdue 9, WCU 7 (March 28, 1959 in Memphis)
Schedule Update: Due to the poor forecast for Sunday, an 11:15 a.m. doubleheader is now planned for Saturday to conclude the series.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue baseball begins its new season with a road trip into the Great Smoky Mountains for a weekend series against the two-time defending Southern Conference champion and 2015 preseason favorite Western Carolina Catamounts.
First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. Friday. A Saturday doubleheader at 11:15 a.m. will complete the series. The schedule was amended Thursday due to the poor forecast for Sunday.
The Boilermakers are opening their new season not far from where the 2014 campaign began, albeit on the other side of the Smokies. The 2014 season was slated to get underway on Valentine's Day, but Purdue and Tennessee didn't end up playing in Knoxville until Feb. 16. A Friday (Feb. 13) or Saturday (Feb. 14) opener this year would mark the earliest start date in Purdue history, eclipsing 2013 (Feb. 15).
The Boilermakers (13-37 in 2014) last played Western Carolina (37-18 in 2014) as recently as February 2012 in their last trip to the state of North Carolina. Purdue was a 14-7 winner against the Catamounts on getaway day at East Carolina's Keith LeClair Classic in Greenville, N.C. Among current Boilers, Joe Eichmann and Brandon Krieg both saw action in that game. Eichmann closed out the win with a scoreless inning of relief in his college debut. The Catamounts' top two position players entering 2015 also saw action in that game as freshmen.
Certainly the most notable game in the short history of the Purdue-WCU all-time series was in the 1987 NCAA Tournament. The Catamounts held on for an 8-7 victory in Starkville, Miss to eliminate the Boilers from their first-ever NCAA Regional appearance.
The elevation of Cullowhee, N.C., is 2,100 feet. And while Purdue has regularly played at Penn State on a biennial basis since 1995, State College's elevation is only 1,200 feet. This weekend's series is believed to feature the highest elevation for any games in program history. WCU's Childress Field at Hennon Stadium features the Purple Monster in left field, a wall that is 20 feet tall for one segment and 14 feet tall for another. The 20-foot high batter's eye in center field is also in play.
WCU's Childress Field at Hennon Stadium
Purdue's first 28-man travel roster of the season features 12 newcomers, with three of them -- transfers Michael Vilardo and Brett Carlson as well as freshman Harry Shipley -- expected to be in the opening day lineup. After a respectable sophomore campaign as Purdue's Saturday starter for much of the season, Gavin Downs moves to Friday. He had strong outings against the likes of LSU, Tennessee, Rice, Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa and Butler last year. Brett Haan and Matt Frawley complete the rotation for the opening weekend. Both righthanders have much command than a year ago according to the coaching staff.
Western Carolina is expected to start three lefties on the mound. Michigan started three lefties against Purdue each of the last two seasons. Iowa did likewise during the final weekend of the 2013 season. Eight of the Boilers' 13 victories came against southpaw starters last year despite facing lefties in seven fewer games.
The Catamounts had four players drafted from their 2014 SoCon championship team that went 37-18 and 20-6 in league play. However, despite posting a combined 43-13 record in SoCon play the last two years, WCU was just 1-4 in the conference tournament and was left out of the NCAA Tournament field both seasons.
Sophomore Bryan Sammons moves to the top of the WCU rotation after finishing 2014 as the Sunday starter and earning Freshman All-American honors. He struck out seven in three different outings en route to finishing the season with 57 strikeouts in 60 innings. Projected Sunday starter Dillon Bray has pitched in only four games for WCU the last two years due to injuries.
The Catamounts' most heralded pitcher is closer Tyler Powell, who had 13 saves and a 1.44 ERA in 2014. He was named to the NCBWA's preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List this week. Jacob Hoyle was tabbed the SoCon's Preseason Player of the Year after batting .332 with 14 home runs a year ago. He had three hits and three RBI against Purdue in the 2012 game at ECU's tournament. Second baseman Bradley Strong is also back after matching Hoyle's team-leading RBI total (53) to go along with 20 doubles and 20 stolen bases. Strong also started as a freshman in the 2012 game against the Boilers.
Purdue dropped its season opener last season for the first time since 2010. The Boilermakers are 7-9 in season openers under head coach Doug Schreiber, but have not won a traditional weekend series to begin a new campaign since taking two-of-three at Texas-San Antonio in 2002.
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New players to make the travel roster for the season-opening weekend
Pitchers
Shane Bryant
Brian Ghiselli
Alex Lyons
Robb Woodcock
Kyle Van Hoeck
Position Players
Brett Carlson
Justin Gubser
Evan Kennedy
Alec Olund
Daniel Sander
Harry Shipley
Michael Vilardo