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Probable Pitching Matchup
Shane Bryant (Jr, RHP) vs. ISU's Craig Larkin (So, LHP)
Tuesday Forecast for West Lafayette, Ind.
60 degrees, clear skies
Series History
All-Time: Purdue leads 17-14
All-Time in West Lafayette: Purdue leads 9-5
Purdue Under Doug Schreiber vs. ISU: Purdue leads 10-7 (Since 1999)
Last Meeting: Purdue 8, Illinois State 6 (April 2014 in Normal)
Last Meeting in West Lafayette: Illinois State 5, Purdue 4 (March 2011)
Last Win by the Home Team: Purdue 5, Illinois State 4 (April 2008 in West Lafayette)
First Meeting: Purdue 25, Illinois State 0 (April 1946 in West Lafayette)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue baseball closes out its season-long six-game homestand with its final midweek home date of the year, welcoming Illinois State to Alexander Field for the first time.
First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m. It's the final $2 Tuesday of the season with general admission tickets specially priced at only $2.
The Boilermakers (13-31) will look to end a recent streak in which the road team has won each of the last seven meetings in the midweek series. Purdue's 5-4 victory vs. ISU in April 2008 marked the last time the home team was victorious. The teams squared off in back-to-back weeks a year later and the road team won both. Illinois State was a winner at Lambert Field in 2010 and 2011 and the Boilers won in Normal in 2010, 2012 and 2014. The 2013 game scheduled for Alexander Field was rained out and not rescheduled.
The Redbirds (21-20) posted their first win against a nationally ranked opponent in over eight years Saturday when they won the middle game of their series vs. No. 15 Missouri State. Purdue was also in position for a win against a Top 25 team on Sunday, which would have been its first since 2012, but could not close out No. 20 Maryland.
The Boilermakers split their season series with Illinois State's Missouri Valley Conference rival Indiana State. The Valley's two ISUs close out the regular season against each other with a three-game series in Normal next month. Among common opponents, the Redbirds have a midweek win against Northern Illinois, lost in 10 innings to Butler in a neutral-site game in Florida and lost at Big Ten-leading Illinois the day after Purdue's series in Champaign wrapped up.
Kyle Wood pitched three innings of one-hit ball and also had a two-run single in a four-run fifth inning in Purdue's victory at Illinois State last season. Jeff Evak had three hits, leading off three innings with a single, and Matt Frawley earned his first collegiate win after retiring the first eight batters he faced over 2 2/3 innings of three-run relief.
Illinois State's star player is junior Paul DeJong, who enters the week tied for the national lead with 14 home runs. He was selected as a Midseason All-American by D1Baseball.com and has started games at second base and catcher this season, while also playing third base late in games when needed. He was 1-for-4 with a two-run single in last year's game against the Boilermakers.
For Purdue, Shane Bryant will look to follow up his stellar start last week with another quality outing. After striking out nine over eight shutout innings against Ball State, the junior has compiled a 1.61 ERA and 21 strikeouts vs. six walks in 22 1/3 innings at Alexander Field this season. He also made home starts against Valparaiso, Kent State and Iowa.
Harry Shipley is batting a team-best .373 with a .522 on-base percentage at home this year. He's 8-for-18 during the current homestand and has reached base safely in 13 consecutive games overall.
Illinois State's probable starter, sophomore lefty Craig Larkin, is set to make his first start for ISU Tuesday. He struck out the side in the sixth inning last week against D-III opponent Webster University to earn his first victory. It was his first appearance since March 21.
Bo Durkac is the first-year head coach of Illinois State. He was elevated from associate head coach to the top spot after former Purdue assistant (1997-98) Mark Kingston was hired as the head coach at South Florida last summer.
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