Game Notes / Live Audio / Live Video / Gameday Central
WEEKEND SERIES INFORMATION
Purdue (17-15, 5-4 B1G) at Rutgers (11-18, 0-3 B1G)
Friday to Sunday, April 14 to 16 at 3, 1 and 1 p.m. ET / BTN Plus on BTN2Go
Bainton Field / Piscataway, New Jersey
All-Time Series: Rutgers leads 3-2 / All-Time in Piscataway: First Meetings
Last Series: Rutgers won 2-of-3 (March 2015 in West Lafayette)
First Meeting: Purdue 15, Rutgers 9 (March 1999 in Boca Raton, Fla.)
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: Tanner Andrews (Jr, RHP) vs. Rutgers' Gaby Rosa (Sr, RHP)
Saturday: Gareth Stroh (So, LHP) vs. Rutgers' Serafino Brito (So, RHP)
Sunday: Mike Kornacker (So, RHP) vs. Rutgers' John O'Reilly (Jr, RHP)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - For its only remaining weekend road trip until the final week of the regular season, Purdue baseball makes its first visit to Rutgers for its forth Big Ten series of the year.
First pitch at Bainton Field in Piscataway is slated for 3 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (all times ET). Rutgers and Michigan State are the only Big Ten teams that do not have lights at their fields. Bainton Field is another ballpark with an artificial turf surface. In the Big Ten, it's also the only field deeper to center (410) than Alexander Field.
New Jersey is the 29th state the Boilermakers have played in during the 130 years of the program. Nebraska, Maryland and now Jersey have all been added to that list as Big Ten expansion has widened the western and eastern borders of the league beginning with the 2011-12 school year. Purdue also played its first-ever games in Arizona in February 2015.
Storms on the East Coast last week led to the cancellation of Rutgers' series at league-leading Minnesota. The Scarlet Knights were unable to find enough seats on flights to accommodate their roster after the storms grounded their original flight from Jersey to the Twin Cities. The two teams are contemplating trying to make up the series, possibly in midweek fashion, in May after both schools finish their spring semester courses.
The five-day layoff didn't slow down Rutgers Tuesday as RU scored a season-high 28 runs in a midweek blowout at Lafayette. The Scarlet Knights blew the game open early with 19 runs over the first three innings. The 28 runs were more than RU had scored in its last six games combined (22). Maryland limited to Rutgers to just three runs at Bainton Field the weekend of April 1 to 2.
The Boilermakers' next three conference series should ultimately determine their Big Ten Tournament fate. With Rutgers (0-3), Illinois (1-5) and Northwestern (2-4) at a combined 3-12 in league play, Purdue has a chance to build on its solid Big Ten start while also limiting the opportunities for three of the teams outside the current top eight to move up.
BIG INNINGS WERE BIG PART OF INDIANA SERIES
- Purdue scored four runs in an inning four times en route to winning its rivalry series vs. Indiana last weekend. The four-run eighth inning Friday allowed the Boilermakers to steal the series opener and win the weekend. The Hoosiers got the bats going Sunday, scoring seven times in the fifth inning, to stave off the sweep. It marked the second time this year Purdue scored four or more runs in an inning in three consecutive games, also accomplishing the feat in the first three games of the season at Texas State. Prior to this year, the Boilermakers had not accomplished the feat since a May 2013 series at Michigan.
STROH FINDING HIS STRIDE ON SATURDAYS
- Gareth Stroh has stepped up in a big way for Purdue in conference play. After issuing a combined 12 walks while failing to get past the fourth inning in both of his spring break starts, the lefty has worked 19 1/3 innings of five-run ball over his first three Big Ten outings. He has issued just two walks during that stretch. The Boilermakers are now 5-3 in games started by Stroh, winning four of their last five Saturday games dating back to the March 18 doubleheader sweep at Santa Clara. That total coupled with a 6-2 record on Fridays has helped Purdue overcome a 1-6 mark on Sundays this season.
LAST PURDUE-RUTGERS SERIES
- The Boilermakers hosted Rutgers in March 2015 for the opening weekend of Big Ten play. Only three players on Purdue's travel rosters this weekend -- Mike Kornacker, Alec Olund and Harry Shipley -- played in that series. Kornacker started the series opener, working 4 2/3 innings of two-run ball. The Boilermakers led 3-2 when he left the mound, but he came up one out shy of qualifying for the victory.
- Meanwhile, the Scarlet Knights' probable Friday and Sunday starters this weekend both pitched at Alexander Field in 2015. Gabby Rosa led RU to a rubber game win with six innings of three-hit ball. John O'Reilly closed out the Rutgers' game two win with a pair of scoreless innings.
QUICK LOOK AT RUTGERS
- The Scarlet Knights played a challenging pre-conference schedule, taking on Miami, Virginia and nationally ranked Florida Gulf Coast for weekend series. Eight of RU's 18 losses came in those three series. Rutgers was 16-6 at home last season.
- Mike Carter went 5-for-5 in Tuesday's blowout win to improve his average to .409 for the season, taking over the Big Ten lead in the process. Center fielder Jawuan Harris is also a wide receiver on the football team. He ranks among the top 10 in the Big Ten in home runs (7) and stolen bases (15), but also leads the team in strikeouts (32 in 109 at-bats). Four-year starting outfielder Tom Marcinczyk has seen hit batting average (.243) dip this season, but he still has connected for six home runs and 12 extra-base hits.
- The Scarlet Knights are last in the Big Ten in ERA (6.34) and fielding percentage (.952). Relievers Max Hermann and Ryan Fleming both have 18 strikeouts in 17 innings. Hermann (.175 B/Avg, 2.12 ERA) has been much more effective as the closer though. O'Reilly leads the team with 44 2/3 innings pitched and has already made eight starts even with RU being idle last weekend.