Midweek Stat Pack / Live Video / Live Audio /
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Ball State (15-15, 4-5 MAC) at Purdue (15-12, 4-2 B1G)
Tuesday, April 10 at 6 p.m. ET / BTN Plus on BTN2Go
Alexander Field / West Lafayette, Indiana
All-Time Series: Purdue leads 50-38-2 / All-Time in West Lafayette: Purdue leads 32-18-1
2017 in Muncie: Purdue 16, Ball State 4 (March 22)
2017 in West Lafayette: Ball State 5, Purdue 3 -- 12 Innings (April 18)
Purdue's Last Win vs. Ball State in West Lafayette: Purdue 9, Ball State 2 (2016)
First Meeting: Purdue 9, Ball State 7 (1930 in West Lafayette)
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
Ryan Beard (Jr, LHP) vs. Ball State's Evan Marquardt (Jr, RHP)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue baseball plays two-thirds of its games over the second half of the season at Alexander Field, a stretch that begins Tuesday with the first of two midweek meetings with Ball State this year.
First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. ET. All midweek games at Alexander Field feature $2 specials on general admission tickets, domestic draft beers, hot dogs and nachos.
The Boilermakers are scheduled to play more games at home this week (four) than they have over the first eight weeks of the season (three). Purdue has played the fewest number of home games in the Big Ten thus far. Illinois (six) is the only other conference rival that has played fewer than eight.
Additionally, the Boilermakers have played just one true midweek game, the March 28 win vs. Valparaiso. Purdue and Ball State were slated to square off March 20 in Muncie, but the game was postponed until May 9 due to sub-40 degree temperatures the first week of spring. By April 10 last season, the Boilermakers had played six home dates and four midweek games.
Due to the cancellations vs. Lipscomb and Oakland, Purdue is now scheduled to play 53 regular-season games. Sunday's series finale in Bloomington was game No. 27 and the unofficial midpoint of the campaign. The Boilermakers are now slated to play 18 of their next 26 games at Alexander Field and have at least one home date on the schedule each of the next six weeks.
OPPOSING BATS FINALLY WARMED UP IN BLOOMINGTON
- From March 23 to April 6, Purdue pitching surrendered only 13 runs on 38 hits over 63 innings. The bullpen had a streak in which it surrendered just one run (unearned) over 24 innings. With a 1.57 ERA and .174 batting average against, it was no surprise the Boilermakers enjoyed a season-high six game-win streak during that stretch.
- Unfortunately, the final two games of the Indiana series featured Purdue's prospects on the mound flip the opposite direction. The bullpen performed well in Sunday's 13-inning battle (9 IP, 4 R, 3 BB, 5 K), but the Boilermakers surrendered 21 runs on 29 hits over the final 20 1/3 innings of the series. That equaled a .345 batting average against.
- Tuesday, Ryan Beard will look to build on his impressive debut at Alexander Field. The junior college transfer worked 6 2/3 hitless innings vs. Valpo before finally giving up consecutive hits and a run with two outs in the top of the seventh.
LOOKING BACK AT 2017 SERIES WITH THE CARDINALS
- Purdue and Ball State played two vastly different games last season. The Boilermakers won in Muncie 16-4 thanks to a season-high 21 hits. The Cardinals won the rematch in West Lafayette 5-3 in 12 innings after rallying to tie the game with two outs in the top of the ninth. It was the only game Purdue lost when leading after eight innings. Ball State's probable starter for Tuesday, Evan Marquardt, retired all eight batters he faced over 2 2/3 innings of relief, setting the stage for the comeback.
- The Boilermakers rallied to win the following night at Indiana State, marking the beginning of a seven-game win streak in which they did not trail for 57 consecutive innings.
- Purdue recorded a season-high 14 strikeouts on the mound in the 12-inning affair. Dalton Parker led the way with five Ks over 3 2/3 innings. It was his debut at Alexander Field after an injury had sidelined him for consecutive weekends early in the Big Ten season. He came back three days later and worked four innings of one-run relief to close out the series-opening win vs. Illinois.
- There were numerous crooked numbers in the final box score of the March 22 game in Muncie. The Boilermakers scored multiple runs in five of the first six innings. Skyler Hunter was 3-for-3 with five RBI, capping a stretch in which he drove in 13 runs over a six-game stretch. Nick Dalesandro (3-for-4, BB, 2 RBI, 4 runs) and Alec Olund (1-for-3, 3 BB, 2 R) both reached base safely four times. Evan Kennedy (2-for-3, BB, 2 RBI) and Harry Shipley (2-for-4) both scored three times. That victory was No. 6 of Purdue's first seven-game win streak of the season.