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The Slate: Week 12
Andy Mohr Field ~ Bloomington, Ind.; Eichelberger Field ~ Urbana, Ill.
Wednesday, April 22: 5 p.m. at Indiana (DH)
Friday, April 24: 6:30 p.m. at Illinois
Saturday, April 25: 2 p.m. at Illinois
Sunday, April 26: 1 p.m. at Illinois
Live Stats: purduesports.com
Video (Fri.): fightingillini.com
Video (Sat./Sun.): BTN Plus via BTN2Go.com
The Book on the Boilermakers
At First Glance: Purdue (27-18, 6-9 Big Ten) kick off a five-game road swing with a Wednesday non-conference doubleheader at Indiana. The Boilermakers finished the 2014 season with a 27-28-1 overall record, falling in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Purdue returns 11 letterwinners, including three position starters and three pitchers from that team, which earned the No. 6 seed in the tournament after posting a 13-10 record in league play and winning five of its eight conference series. Head coach Kim Schuette is in her second season with the Boilermakers.
Last Time Out: Purdue posted a 2-2 record last week, The Boilers defeated IPFW 14-1 on Wednesday and topped Iowa 4-1 in Game 1 of a Saturday doubleheader, but fell to the Hawkeyes 2-0 on Friday and 5-1 in Game 2 on Saturday.
Statistically Speaking: First baseman Ashley Burkhardt (.402) leads the Boilermaker bats and a group of seven starters with averages of .250 or better. Burkhardt has driven in a team-best 42 RBI, scored 36 runs, swiped 26 bases and launched nine home runs. Designated player Katie Harrison (.333), outfielder Kristen Hoppman (.319), third baseman/outfielder Alyssa Koorsen (.318), catcher Kaylah Hampton (.292), shortstop Paris Andrew (.282) and outfielder Maya Hughes (.273) round out the group. Hampton has driven in 29 RBI, scored 16 runs and launched seven home runs. Koorsen has scored 28 runs, swiped 14 bases and tallied seven doubles, while Hughes has stolen 21 bases and scored 21 runs. Andrew has scored 21 runs, driven in 23 RBI, stolen eight bases and accounted for two triples and a home run. As a team, the Boilers are batting .288 with 21 home runs and 79 stolen bases.
In the circle, the Boilermaker pitchers are holding foes to a .204 average. Junior Lilly Fecho (17-12) has posted a 1.67 ERA with 243 strikeouts, five shutouts and a save in 192 innings of work, while allowing opponents just a .186 average. Freshman Gina Snyder (7-2) has struck out 63 batters in 51 innings, while boasting a 3.00 ERA and holding foes to a .181 average. Senior Lexy Moore (3-3) has issued 23 strikeouts in 45 innings, while senior Alex Whittemore (0-1) has added seven Ks in 10 innings.
What a Difference a Win Makes ...
If the Boilermakers top Indiana in Game 1 on Wednesday ....
- They will move to 28-18 on the season.
- They will have won eight of their last nine games against the Hoosiers dating to 2011.
- They will move to 226-214-2 all-time in the month of April, including a 6-7 mark on April 22.
Series Information
Indiana (Purdue leads the series 28-18): The Hoosiers won seven of the first eight meetings in the series which began on March 26, 1994. Purdue responded with five straight victories and 10 of the next 11 from 1998 to 2003. Indiana won a game in 2003 and one in 2004, but the Boilers took the next three. IU swept the two 2006 meetings, but Purdue answered with six straight, sweeping the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons. The teams split the 2010 series, before Indiana won four straight. Since then, the Boilermakers have won seven of the last eight, including two games of the 2014 series in West Lafayette and the Big Ten Tournament opening round game.
Illinois (Illinois leads the series 17-12): The Fighting Illini won seven of the first eight meetings with the Boilermakers in the series which began on April 27, 2001. Beginning in 2005, Purdue took five of the next six contests. After splitting the next four meetings, Illinois began a streak of four straight wins. Since snapping that streak in 2011, Purdue has won four of the last seven, including two during the 2014 series in West Lafayette. The Boilers are 7-10 in West Lafayette and 4-7 in Champaign.
Hints About the Hoosiers
At First Glance: The Indiana Hoosiers (14-31, 5-10 Big Ten) have split their last eight contests heading into a Tuesday game at Ball State. Indiana returns 12 letterwinners, including seven starters and a pitcher, from the 2014 team, which posted a 17-39-1 record and finished 10th in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers are coached by Michelle Gardner, who is in her seventh year with the team.
Last Time Out: Indiana dropped all three games of a weekend series with No. 4 Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich, falling 11-2 in five innings, 3-0 and 7-1.
Statistically Speaking: Outfielder Rebecca Blitz (.359) leads a group of eight Hoosiers batting .250 or better. Outfielder Shannon Cawley (.326), second baseman Erin Lehman (.323), catcher Kelsey Dotson (.322), outfielder Michelle Huber (.308), shortstop Taylor Uden (.270), third baseman Rachel O'Malley (.258) and pitcher Brianna Meyer (.258) round out the group. Blitz has scored a team-leading 33 runs and swiped 12 bases. Cawley has driven in 37 RBI with seven doubles and nine home runs, while scoring 22 runs. Dotson has driven in 36 RBI with seven doubles and a team-best 10 home runs. Uden has added a team-high 10 doubles and three home runs, while scoring 22 runs. Huber and Lehman have tallied seven doubles each. As a team, Indiana is batting .289 with 43 home runs and 23 stolen bases.
In the circle, senior Lora Olsen (10-22) has done the bulk of the pitching, striking out 82 batters in 174 innings, including six complete games. Senior Miranda Tamayo (4-8) has added 67 strikeouts in 104 innings and earned three saves. Freshman Emily Kirk (0-1) has struck out four in 10 innings. The staff has allowed foes a .354 average and 53 home runs.
Facts About the Fighting Illini
At First Glance: The Illinois Fighting Illini (21-22, 10-5 Big Ten) have won 13 of their last 15 games dating to March 28 heading into their Wednesday doubleheader at Northwestern. Illinois returns 12 letterwinners, including seven starters and two pitchers, from the 2014 team, which posted a 24-26 record and finished ninth in the Big Ten. The Illini are coached by Terri Sullivan, who is in her 16th year with the team.
Last Time Out: Illinois went 3-1 last week, topping DePaul 6-0 on Wednesday and taking both games of a Saturday doubleheader with Wisconsin. The Badgers won Friday's game 11-7.
Statistically Speaking: First baseman Alyssa Gunther (.406) leads the way as eight Illini starters are batting .250 or better. Second baseman Allie Bauch (.390), outfielder Carly Thomas (.370), catcher Jess Perkins (.357), designated player Kylie Johnson (.353), infielder Ruby Rivera (.342), outfielder Nicole Evans (.326) and outfielder Brittany Sanchez (.250) round out the group. Gunther has scored 35 runs and added four triples and eight doubles, while Bauch tallied a team-best 40 runs, 15 doubles, 10 home runs and 29 RBI. Evans has lifted a team-leading 16 home runs, scored 30 runs and posted a team-best 44 RBI. Perkins has driven in 38 RBI with seven doubles and seven homers, while Thomas has accounted for 37 RBI with 11 doubles and nine long balls. Johnson has stolen a team-best 11 bases and scored 21 runs. As a team, Illinois is batting .331 with 58 home runs and 28 steals.
In the circle, sophomore Jade Vecvanags (15-9) leads the Illini with 91 strikeouts in 121 innings including a shutout. Senior Shelese Arnold (4-6) has added 38 Ks in 75 innings with three complete games. Sophomore Breanna Wonderly has issued 19 Ks in 59 innings including a shutouts. The staff has allowed foes a .318 average and 49 home runs.
Season Strikeout Leader
Junior Lilly Fecho snapped the Purdue season record for strikeouts on April 10, posting six strikeouts against Nebraska, upping her tally to 219 Ks in 2015, three ahead of Suzie Rzegocki's tally of 216 in 2010. Fecho's record total stands at 243 with nine regular season games left.
In The Nation
The Boilermakers rank among the nation's top 50 in four statistical categories: earned run average (20th with 2.24), fielding percentage (21st with .974), stolen bases per game (22nd with 1.76) and triples per game (24th with 0.29).
Individually, junior pitcher Lilly Fecho ranks among the top 50 in five categories: strikeouts (6th with 243), strikeouts per seven innings (25th with 8.8), ERA (30th with 1.67), wins (36th with 17), and hits allowed per seven innings (29th with 4.69). Freshman pitcher Gina Snyder ranks 21st in hits allowed per seven innings (4.50) and 34th in strikeouts per seven innings (8.6). Senior first baseman Ashley Burkhardt is 29th in stolen bases per game (0.58).