Game Notes / Live Audio / Live Video Saturday, Sunday / Gameday Central
WEEKEND SERIES INFORMATION
Purdue (5-5) at Cal State Northridge (7-6)
Friday, March 10 to Monday, March 13 at 5, 4, 4 and 3 p.m. ET
Matador Field / Northridge, California
All-Time Series: CSUN leads 4-3
2016 Series: Purdue won 3-of-4 (May 19-22 in West Lafayette)
Last Meetings in California: CSUN swept 2-game series (2002)
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: Tanner Andrews (Jr, RHP) vs. CSUN's Andrew Weston (Jr, RHP)
Saturday: Gareth Stroh (So, LHP) vs. CSUN's Samuel Myers (Sr, RHP)
Sunday: Mike Kornacker (So, RHP) vs. CSUN's Tei Vanderford (Jr, RHP)
Monday: TBA for both teams
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue baseball begins its spring break trip in California with the first of two four-game sets, visiting Cal State Northridge for a weekend wraparound series.
First pitch at Matador Field in the San Fernando Valley is set for 5 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 3 p.m. Monday (all times ET). The Boilermakers will fly to San Jose on Monday in preparation for part two of the trip, a four-game series at Santa Clara (March 16-18). Purdue has not spent its entire spring break trip on the road since 2012 (Murray State, Missouri State, Wichita State) and has not spent a full week in California since the 1998 spring break trip to San Jose and Fresno.
Hayden Grant (Solana Beach), Logan Poisall (Clovis) and head coach Mark Wasikowski (Seal Beach) all return to their home state this week. The program's three assistant coaches -- Wally Crancer (Norco), Steve Holm (Sacramento) and Miles Miller (Lake Tahoe) -- are also California natives.
The Boilermakers are returning the trip to Southern California after CSUN visited Alexander Field in May of last year for Purdue's final weekend of the season. All four games were decided in shutout fashion, with Purdue taking three of four. However, the winning team's starting pitcher in all four shutouts has since moved on. Matt Frawley (18th round, Pirates) and CSUN's Kenny Rosenberg (8th round, Rays) left school early after being selected in the 2016 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Gavin Downs and Mike Lutz both graduated as four-year letterwinners for the Boilermakers.
ANDREWS, VANDERFORD IMPRESS EARLY THIS SEASON
- Pitching has the led the way for the Matadors early this season. Headlined by Tei Vanderford (0.79 ERA, 11 hits allowed in 22 2/3 IP), CSUN has compiled a 3.38 team ERA over its first 13 games. The Matadors have surrendered no more than seven runs in a game and posted an impressive series win at No. 14 Vanderbilt last weekend. Andrew Weston (6 IP, 3 R, 4 K) and Vanderford (9 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 8 K) both recorded a quality start in Nashville.
- Vanderford's line was remarkably similar to the complete-game shutout Tanner Andrews (9 IP, 4 H, 8 K) put together in Purdue's series-opening win at Southeast Missouri State last weekend. Both players were among the five highlighted by HEROsports.com on the pitching half of the HERO of the Week ballot.
- Andrews worked five innings of one-hit scoreless relief over two appearances in the CSUN series last season, earning the win in game two (1 2/3 IP, 0 H) and the save in game four (3 1/3 IP, 1 H, 4 K). Meanwhile, Weston is CSUN's only announced starting pitcher that took the mound at Alexander a year ago, working 5 1/3 innings of three-run ball in the series finale. However, Purdue went with a senior-dominated lineup that day. Harry Shipley was the only active Boilermaker to face Weston.
#Purdue enters 4th week of season with the national leaders in ERA & HBP. Parker, Warden doing well. Full rankings: https://t.co/IjU8K4hbHX pic.twitter.com/5fzfJKzXx4
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) March 7, 2017
HOME RUN HEROICS
- The forecast in Southern California this weekend calls for temperatures in the high-70s to low-80s and lots of sunshine. With no lights at Matador Field, Purdue will be extending its streak of consecutive day games to 13 dating back to day two of the season.
- The nice weather and friendly dimensions at Matador Field (325 to the corners, 390 to center field) do not necessarily mean Purdue's recent power surge will continue. The Boilermakers hit seven home runs over the final two games of the SEMO series, their most against a single opponent in the BBCOR bat era (2011-present). Purdue had not hit seven homers in a series since a March 2010 two-game midweek set at Missouri. It had been more than decade (April 2006 at Indiana) since the Boilermakers hit seven homers in a weekend series.
- Nick Dalesandro, John LeGare, Mike Madej and Jacson McGowan all hit safely in all three games of the SEMO series. Dalesandro and LeGare also drove in a run in all three games. Evan Warden joined LeGare and Madej as Boilermakers to score a run in all three games. While making his collegiate debut, LeGare not only homered in consecutive games, but also became the first Boilermaker since Kyle Wood (March 2016 vs. Ohio) to hit safely, drive in a run and score a run in all three games of a series.
- Dalesandro delivered a walk-off single in the 10th inning to lift Purdue to a 1-0 victory in game two of the series with CSUN last year. It was the Boilermakers' first 1-0 win since March 2011 at Lipscomb. Dalesandro also homered in back-to-back games last weekend at SEMO, joining Poisall, LeGare, Madej, McGowan and Shipley as those to hit their first homers as Boilermakers this season. Purdue only had four different players go deep in all of 2016.
KORNACKER COMES FULL CIRCLE
- Mike Kornacker moves into the rotation this weekend. The right-hander is slated to take the hill Sunday, making his first start on the mound since March 2015 vs. Butler. It was the last of his six starts as a freshman, all coming in the opening game of a weekend, before being shut down for the rest of the season with a back injury. He was limited to a position player role over the first month of last year before opting to have season-ending arm surgery.
- In 2015, Kornacker helped Purdue win games against Gonzaga (3 1/3 IP, 1 R), Oklahoma (5 1/3 IP, 1 R) and Rutgers (4 2/3 IP, 2 R) and was deserving of a win with quality outings against Northern Illinois (6+ IP, 4 R) and Butler (5 2/3 IP, 0 R). Purdue has struggled on Sundays so far this season, getting outscored 44-12 in its three losses.
MORE ON CSUN
- Albee Weiss (.340, 6 XBH, 12 RBI) and Kevin Riley (.314, 8 XBH, 9 RBI) have been CSUN's primary run producers early this season. Weiss was just 1-for-12 in the series at Alexander Field lasts year. Riley is a junior college transfer from Chaffey College.
- Vanderford's road to CSUN was a unique one. He pitched at Glendale College in 2013 and 2016, transferring back after a two-year stint at the University of Tennessee in which he redshirted in 2014 and missed all of 2015 due to injury. However, he still managed to earn his degree during his two years in Knoxville.
- The Matadors' pitching staff has issued 54 walks in 116 innings (4.2 per 9 IP), but allowed just 106 hits (8.2 per 9 IP). The Boilermakers drew 25 walks over their first five games but just six in the five games since.