Game Notes | Listen | Watch (PPV) | Game Day Central
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday: Shane Bryant (Jr, RHP) vs. Michigan's Jacob Cronenworth (Jr, RHP)
Saturday: Brett Haan (Sr, RHP) vs. Michigan's Ryan Nutof (Fr, RHP)
Sunday: Matt Frawley (So, RHP) vs. Michigan's Brett Adcock (So, LHP)
Series History
All-Time: Michigan leads 140-59
All-Time in Ann Arbor: Michigan leads 68-26
Purdue Under Doug Schreiber vs. Michigan: Michigan leads 25-19 (Since 1999)
2014: Michigan won 2-of-3 in West Lafayette (April 18-20)
Last Series in Ann Arbor: Michigan won 2-of-3 (May 2013)
Purdue's Last Series Win vs. Michigan: Purdue won 2-of-3 (May 2012 in West Lafayette)
Purdue's Last Series Win in Ann Arbor: Purdue swept a 4-game series (April 1993)
First Meeting: Michigan 18, Purdue 0 (April 24, 1983 in Ann Arbor)
Weekend Weather Forecast for Ann Arbor, Mich.
Friday: 74 degrees, clear skies
Saturday: 71 degrees, clear skies
Sunday: 60 degrees, 70 percent chance of rain
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- For the first of its two road trips to the Great Lakes state over the next three weeks, Purdue baseball visits Ann Arbor for its first series on the second-year artificial turf surface at Michigan's Ray Fisher Stadium.
First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. This weekend represents the Boilermakers' final games of the season on artificial turf. Purdue's remaining road games at Michigan State, Nebraska and Valparaiso over the first 12 days of May will all be played on natural grass fields. The Boilermakers (12-24, 1-8 Big Ten) open a six-game homestand Tuesday.
With their open weekend in conference play not until the final weekend of the season, the Wolverines (21-16, 6-6 Big Ten) have played three of their first four Big Ten series on the road. Since getting swept at Nebraska the first weekend of league play (March 20-22), they have won two of three vs. Maryland, at Indiana and at Penn State in their last three series. Michigan became the first visiting team to win a traditional weekend series at IU's Kaufman Field, which opened in 2013. In the series against Maryland and Penn State, the Wolverines won two of three after dropping the opener.
The artificial turf was installed at Ray Fisher Stadium in the fall of 2013. Michigan is 6-2 at home this season after losing Wednesday's midweek game to Eastern Michigan. The Wolverines' .296 team batting average is the best in the Big Ten.
Michigan's Jackson Glines (.368) and Purdue's Kyle Wood (.366) rank second and third in the Big Ten in batting average, respectively. The Wolverines' Carmen Benedetti leads the conference in RBI (38) thanks in part to 12 doubles and 17 extra-base hits total.
Jacob Cronenworth recently made the move from closer to Friday starter for Michigan, making his first collegiate start on the mound March 28 against Maryland. He struck out nine over five innings that day but still took the loss. Uniquely, he has also batted leadoff in every game this season, even those he started on the mound. Cronenworth has played primarily first base as a position player and leads U-M with four home runs.
Purdue won a pair of games and advanced to the championship round of the 2008 Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, but has not won a traditional weekend series at Ray Fisher Stadium since sweeping a pair of doubleheaders as part of a four-game set in April 1993. That represents Purdue's longest active drought without a series win at any Big Ten rival. However, the Boilers didn't play in Ann Arbor from 1994-2001.
The Purdue-Michigan series at Ray Fisher Stadium in May 2013 was a wild one. There were a combined seven big innings in which four-plus runs were scored. The winning team surged ahead in the eighth inning or later of all three games. The Boilermakers scored four times with outs in the ninth inning to steal the series finale, 12-9. Jack Picchiotti delivered a game-tying single with an 0-2 count in the top of the ninth. Kyle Johnson finished the weekend 5-for-9 with two doubles, five walks and seven runs scored. Brandon Krieg hit a two-run homer in the first game of the series.
Strong outings on the mound from Gavin Downs and Matt Gibbs highlighted last year's series at Alexander Field. Downs surrendered just two unearned runs over seven innings of three-hit ball to lead the Boilers to a game two win. Gibbs worked six scoreless innings of relief over two appearances. He struck out six over five innings in the opener of the series, which Michigan won in 12 innings. Krieg was 6-for-6 with three walks, three RBI and three runs scored against Michigan a year ago.
Mike Lutz appeared in all three games of the Michigan series last season and Tim McElroy did the same in 2013 in Ann Arbor.
Doug Schreiber will coach his 450th career Big Ten game as the leader of the Boilermakers Friday.
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