Purdue at Notre Dame
Wednesday, March 28 / 5 p.m. ET
Melissa Cook Stadium / South Bend, Indiana
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue (7-24, 1-3 B1G) is set for its first midweek game of the 2018 season against Notre Dame (20-10, 5-3 ACC) at Melissa Cook Stadium. Both programs are coming off 1-2 weekends against conference opponents.
The Boilermakers head to South Bend, Indiana, for the first time since 2011 to take on the Fighting Irish on Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET. Purdue is coming off a solid offensive performance against Illinois as it scored 14 runs in the three-game series and was just a base hit away from taking the series to open Big Ten play.
Stephanie Ramsey and Alexa Binckes led the Boilermakers offensively against the Illini as they slashed .545/.818/.583 and .625/.750/.727 respectively. Ramsey is now 8-for-16 in her last five games with five runs batted in and three runs scored. Binckes is on a six-game hitting streak and is also 8-for-16 in that span. The sophomore catcher also ranks second in the Big Ten with nine baserunners caught stealing.
The game in South Bend is as close of a homecoming matchup as Halle Hixenbaugh could ask for and the sophomore transfer is entering the game on a hot streak of her own. In the month of March, Hixenbaugh has earned 11 hits of her 15 hits this season with a .306 batting average.
Freshman Siena Wagner is emerging as a clutch performer at the plate for the Boilermakers as she has six hits in her last 13 at-bats with three multi-hit games, four RBI and a run scored.
Purdue's 1-2-3 hitters continue to produce as Mallory Baker, Ryleigh Scott and Jenny Behan have been the most consistent factors in the program's offensive production this season. Baker's 26 hits and 21 walks give her a .286 batting average and a .425 on-base percentage in the leadoff spot. Her walk total ranks second in the Big Ten this season and she has also provided some pop in 2018 with nine extra-base hits giving her a .462 slugging percentage. In the two hole, Scott has produced 11 multi-hit efforts for the Boilermakers in her rookie season and leads Big Ten freshmen with 33 hits fueling a .311 batting average. Jenny Behan is the leading run producer in her first year as a Boilermaker as she's slashing .274/.536/.382 with 17 RBI and nine runs scored.
