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Probable Starting Pitchers
Gavin Downs (Jr, RHP) vs. IPFW's Brandon Pease (Jr, LHP)
Series History
All-Time: Purdue leads 23-2
All-Time in West Lafayette: Purdue leads 17-0
Current Series Streak: Purdue has won eight straight (Since 2010)
Purdue Under Doug Schreiber vs. IPFW: Purdue leads 11-2 (Since 1999)
First Meeting of 2015: Purdue 9, IPFW 1 (April 1)
First Ever Meetings: Purdue swept a doubleheader, 3-2 & 2-1 (May 1976 in West Lafayette)
Wednesday Weather Forecast for West Lafayette, Ind.
68 degrees, clear skies
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue baseball takes a break from its seven-game road stretch Wednesday to host IPFW for midweek action for the second time over the past fortnight.
First pitch at Alexander Field is set for 5:30 p.m. Purdue Pete will be on hand in his baseball uniform as part of mascot night at the ballpark.
While most Americans think of April 15 as tax day, Major League Baseball has also made April 15 into Jackie Robinson Day. MLB retired Robinson's No. 42 for all of its teams on April 15, 1997, which was the 50th anniversary of Robinson making his big league debut and in doing so breaking the color barrier. No. 42 remains an available number in college baseball and the last few years Gavin Downs has worn it for the Boilermakers. The junior right-hander from Fort Wayne is scheduled to start on the mound Wednesday.
Purdue (11-24) is 3-3 in midweek action this season after winning at Indiana State last week, posting its first victory in Terre Haute since 2006 in the process. The Boilermakers were also a 9-1 winner against IPFW (16-15) in the first meeting two weeks ago (April 1). Kyle Wood (10-for-23) and Cody Strong (6-for-15) are each batting .400 or better in midweek action.
Following Wednesday's game Purdue has four midweek dates remaining on the schedule, including three during the upcoming six-game homestand. From April 21-28, Indiana State, Ball State, Maryland and Illinois State will all visit Alexander Field. After having the week of May 4-8 off for final exams on campus, the Tuesday, May 12, rematch with Valparaiso in Northwest Indiana represents the Boilers' midweek finale.
Alex Lyons and Kyle Van Hoeck each worked three innings of scoreless relief as Purdue limited IPFW to just five hits in the first meeting of the season. Harry Shipley and Wood each had three hits. But it was Alec Olund's two solo home runs to left field that grabbed headlines on April 1. Olund posted the first multi-homer game by a Purdue freshman since Cameron Perkins in April 2010, making it the first of the BBCOR bat era (2011-present).
Olund suffered a separated shoulder at Indiana State last week while trying to make a diving catch on the warning track in the fourth inning. He has been sidelined since but could be cleared to play this weekend at Michigan.
Beginning with Olund's two-homer effort, Purdue has hit its fair share of long balls as the weather has warmed up in April. The Boilermakers have connected for seven home runs over the last eight games, with Jordan Lewis (two), Wood (two) and Brandon Krieg also going deep during that stretch. Unfortunately, six of those seven home runs have been solo blasts. And for the season, 13 of Purdue's 17 home runs have come with the bases empty.
While the Boilers have scuffled against a pair of Top 25 conference rivals (Iowa and Illinois) since the first meeting with IPFW, the Mastodons have won six of their last eight games. By winning two of three against North Dakota State and Nebraska-Omaha the last two weekends, IPFW has moved up to fourth place in the Summit League standings and put itself in position to contend for a berth into the four-team Summit League Tournament. The Mastodons qualified for the tourney last year for the first time since joining the league.
With IPFW left-hander Brandon Pease also starting against Purdue two weeks ago, the Boilers are set to face a southpaw starter for the fifth straight game in midweek action. Downs (two IP) and Pease (one IP) only pitched a combined three innings April 1 and are unlikely to be asked to go deep into the game again this week.