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The Slate
Week 14: Big Ten Tournament - Buckeye Field ~ Columbus, Ohio
Live Stats: purduesports.com
Video (Thurs.): BTN Plus via BTN2Go.com
Video (Fri-Sat.): BTN and BTN2Go
Thursday, May 7: Noon vs. No. 5 seed Illinois
Friday, May 8: With a win: Noon vs. Northwestern
Saturday, May 9:
With a win: 3:30 p.m. vs TBA
With a win: 8:30 p.m. vs. TBA
The Book on the Boilermakers
At First Glance: Purdue (30-24, 7-14 Big Ten) kicks off the next phase of its 2015 season at the Big Ten Tournament in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday. The Boilermakers are the No. 12 seed in the tournament after finishing in an 11th-place tie with Indiana in the regular season standings. Purdue returns 11 letterwinners, including three position starters and three pitchers from the 2014 team, which earned the No. 6 seed in the tournament after posting a 27-28-1 record, including a 13-10 mark in league play. Head coach Kim Schuette is in her second season with the Boilermakers.
Last Time Out: The Boilermakers wrapped up the home campaign with a 2-0 victory over Indiana State on Wednesday, featuring Lilly Fecho's first career no-hitter, the 15th in program history. Purdue finished the regular season dropping three close games to No. 13 Minnesota in Minneapolis, falling 1-0 on Friday, 3-2 in eight innings in Game 1 on Saturday and 4-2 in Game 2 of the twin bill.
Statistically Speaking: First baseman Ashley Burkhardt (.398) leads the Boilermaker bats and a group of eight starters with averages of .250 or better. Burkhardt has driven in a team-best 48 RBI, scored 43 runs, swiped 27 bases and launched 11 home runs. Designated player Katie Harrison (.333), third baseman/outfielder Alyssa Koorsen (.311), shortstop Paris Andrew (.307), outfielder Kristen Hoppman (.299), catcher Kaylah Hampton (.274), outfielder Maya Hughes (.260) and third baseman/designated player CJ Parsons (.256) round out the group. Hampton has driven in 32 RBI, scored 17 runs and launched eight home runs. Koorsen has scored 32 runs, swiped 15 bases and tallied nine doubles, while Hughes has stolen 22 bases and scored 23 runs. Andrew has scored 26 runs, driven in 28 RBI, stolen nine bases and accounted for two triples and a home run. As a team, the Boilers are batting .282 with 25 home runs and 85 stolen bases.
In the circle, the Boilermaker pitchers are holding foes to a .213 average. Junior Lilly Fecho (19-16) has posted a 1.98 ERA with 280 strikeouts, six shutouts and a save in 229 innings of work, while allowing opponents just a .196 average. Freshman Gina Snyder (7-3) has struck out 71 batters in 65 innings, while holding foes to a .206 average. Senior Lexy Moore (4-4) has issued 26 strikeouts in 53 innings, while senior Alex Whittemore (0-1) has added seven Ks in 10 innings.
What a Difference a Win Makes ...
If the Boilermakers top Illinois on Thursday ....
- They will move to 31-24 on the season, marking the 13th time the Boilermakers have posted 31 or more wins in a season and the first time since 2012 (31-19).
- They will advance to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament for the third straight year and move to 4-9 all-time in Big Ten Tourney games.
- They will even the season series with the Fighting Illini at two games apiece.
- They will snap a three-game losing streak.
- They will move to 40-55-1 all-time in the month of May, including a 4-5 mark on May 7.
Series Information
Illinois (Illinois leads the series 19-13): 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 had won four of the last seven, including two during the 2014 series in West Lafayette, but Illinois took two of the three 2015 meetings. The Boilers are 7-10 in West Lafayette, 5-9 in Champaign and 1-0 in neutral meetings.
Northwestern (NU leads the series 30-15): Purdue won nine of the first 11 meetings in the series which began on March 6, 1995. The Wildcats took six of the next eight contests. The Boilermakers swept the 2001 series with a pair of 2-1 victories. Since then, Northwestern has won 22 of the last 24 meetings. Purdue is 7-10 in West Lafayette, 8-17 in Evanston and 0-3 in neutral site games.
Facts About the Fighting Illini
At First Glance: The Illinois Fighting Illini (26-26, 14-9 Big Ten) earned the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, finishing fifth in the conference. 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: The Fighting Illini went 2-2 last week, topping Western Illinois 9-0 (6) on Tuesday, but dropping two of three games in their final Big Ten series at Nebraska. The Illini fell 8-0 in five innings on Friday, rebounded with a 12-10 win on Saturday and dropped the finale 9-1 in five innings on Sunday.
Statistically Speaking: Second baseman Allie Bauch (.403) leads the way as eight Illini starters are batting .250 or better. First baseman Alyssa Gunther (.376), outfielder Carly Thomas (.372), designated player Kylie Johnson (.341), catcher Jess Perkins (.329), infielder Ruby Rivera (.324), outfielder Nicole Evans (.322) and outfielder Brittany Sanchez (.254) round out the group. Bauch has tallied a team-best 47 runs, 38 RBI, 18 doubles and 12 home runs to go with six stolen bases. Gunther has scored 43 runs and added four triples and eight doubles, while Thomas has accounted for 29 runs, 15 doubles, nine hme runs and 42 RBI. Evans has lifted a team-leading 18 home runs, scored 36 runs and posted a team-best 50 RBI. Perkins has driven in 48 RBI with 10 doubles and nine homers, while Johnson has stolen a team-best 13 bases and scored 28 runs. As a team, Illinois is batting .328 with 67 home runs and 34 steals.
In the circle, sophomore Jade Vecvanags (19-11) leads the Illini with 113 strikeouts in 160 innings including two shutouts. Senior Shelese Arnold (4-7) has added 39 Ks in 78 innings with three complete games. Sophomore Breanna Wonderly (2-8) has issued 22 Ks in 68 innings including a shutout. The staff has allowed foes a .321 average and 54 home runs.
Notes About Northwestern
At First Glance: The Northwestern Wildcats (27-20, 14-8 Big Ten) earned a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament by claiming the No. 4 seed and finishing fourth in regular season play. Northwestern returns 14 letterwinners, including six starters, from the 2014 team, which posted a 35-18 record, finished fifth in the Big Ten and advanced to the NCAA Seattle Regional final. The Wildcats are coached by Kate Drohan, who is in her 14th year with the team.
Last Time Out: Northwestern went 3-1 last week, topping DePaul 12-1 in five innings of Wednesday before taking two of three at Iowa to wrap the regular season. The Wildcats topped the Hawkeyes 1-0 on Friday and 11-6 on Saturday before falling 8-6 on Sunday.
Statistically Speaking: Outfielder Sabrina Rabin (.411) leads a group of six Wildcats starters batting .250 or better. Outfielder Andrea DiPrima (.400), outfielder Andrea Filler (.396), pitcher/designated player Amy Letourneau (.360), first baseman Julia Kuhn (.336) and outfielder Olivia Duehr (.281) round out the group. DiPrima headlines the offense with 45 RBI, 33 runs, 10 doubles and 10 home runs. Rabin has scored a team-best 49 runs, while also swiping a team-leading 27 bases. Filler has driven in a team-best 59 RBI with 14 doubles and 12 home runs. Letourneau and Duehr each have added seven home runs, while Kuhn has launched five. As a team, Northwestern is batting .316 with 60 home runs and 51 stolen bases.
Junior Kristen Wood (15-9) and Letourneau (11-9) have split the pitching duties for the Wildcats. Wood has struck out 212 batters and issued four shutouts in 172 innings, while Letourneau has added 90 Ks in 98 innings, including a shutout. Duehr has seen action in seven games, posting a 1-2 record with six Ks in 26.1 innings. The trio is holding foes to a .262 average and 40 home runs.
In The Nation
The Boilermakers rank among the nation's top 50 in four statistical categories: triples per game (18th with 0.30), stolen bases per game (34th with 1.57), earned run average (31st with 2.52) and fielding percentage (47th with .969).
Individually, junior pitcher Lilly Fecho ranks among the top 50 in five categories: strikeouts (9th with 280), strikeouts per seven innings (31st with 8.5), hits allowed per seven innings (39th with 5.03), wins (40th with 19) and ERA (44th with 1.98). Senior first baseman Ashley Burkhardt is 36th in sacrifice flies (4).
In A Season
Junior Lilly Fecho has become Purdue's season strikeout leader with 280, surpassing Suzie Rzegocki's tally of 216 from 2010.
Senior Ashley Burkhardt has moved into third place in season RBI ahead of DaQueta Johnson's 46 in 2006 and Heidi Foster's 2002 total of 47. She is now just five RBI away from the second-place mark of 53 set by Foster in 2003 and six away from Katie Mitchell's 2007 record of 54. Burkhardt also ranks fifth in home runs (11) and sacrifice flies (4). The home run tally matches Heidi Foster (2003) and Candace Curtis (2008). She is just one away from tying the second place mark of 12, which has been achieved three times. The sac fly mark matches her own fifth place tally from 2014 and that of Heidi Foster in 2003.
As a team, the Boilers have been hit by 40 pitches, ranking second on that season listing, five away from the 2009 team's record tally of 45.
A Tough Slate
The Boilermakers faced off with eight teams ranked or receiving votes in the preseason Top 25. Purdue played nine games against the Top 25: No. 15 Minnesota and No. 18 Nebraska three times each, No. 7 UCLA, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 24 Texas A&M. The team also took on vote-getters in Cal State Fullerton, Northwestern (three times) and Wisconsin (three times) boosting the tally to 16 games against ranked foes or those receiving votes. The Boilermakers played against eight teams that participated in last year's NCAA Regional, including that went on to the Super Regionals.