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BIG TEN TOURNAMENT INFORMATION / FIRST TWO ROUNDS
No. 7-seed Ohio State (34-20, 14-10 B1G) vs. No. 2-seed Purdue (34-18, 17-6 B1G)
Wednesday, May 23 at 2 p.m. ET / BTN, BTN2Go, Fox Sports Go
TD Ameritrade Park / Omaha, Nebraska
All-Time Series: OSU leads 148-62 / All-Time at Big Ten Tournament: OSU leads 6-2
2018 Series: OSU won 2 of 3 (May 11-13 in Columbus)
Probable Pitching Matchup: Tanner Andrews (Sr, RHP) vs. Connor Curlis (Jr, LHP)
Purdue vs. No. 3-seed Michigan (32-19, 15-8 B1G) or No. 6-seed Iowa (33-18, 13-9 B1G)
Thursday, May 24 at 10 a.m. or 6 p.m. ET / BTN, BTN2Go, Fox Sports Go
TD Ameritrade Park / Omaha, Nebraska
All-Time vs. Michigan: U-M leads 146-62 / All-Time at Big Ten Tournament: U-M leads 6-1
All-Time vs. Iowa: Iowa leads 97-64-1 / All-Time at Big Ten Tournament: Iowa lead 2-1
2018 vs. Michigan: Purdue swept a 3-game set (May 17-19 in West Lafayette)
Last Meetings vs. Iowa: Iowa won 2 of 3 (March 2017 in Iowa City)
OMAHA, Neb. - As the No. 2 seed at the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in a decade, Purdue baseball looks to sustain its recent fundamental success that has resulted in the Boilermakers winning 18 of their last 20.
Ohio State, Michigan and Iowa are the other teams in Purdue's half of the bracket in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. The home of the College World Series is serving as the host site of the Big Ten Tournament for the third time. It's also the first of five consecutive years in which the conference tournament will be held in Omaha.
The Boilermakers square off vs. OSU on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET. Their second game will be Thursday at either 10 a.m. or 6 p.m. against Michigan or Iowa.
Nebraska native Gareth Stroh (Kearney) is Purdue's likely starter for Thursday. Ryan Beard and Andrew Bohm are also candidates to start on the mound this week.
Ohio State is the only team to defeat the Boilermakers in the last month, ending their program-record 13-game win streak the weekend of May 11 to 13 in Columbus. Purdue held a 6-1 lead Sunday, but OSU scored 15 unanswered runs to take the rubber game. It was one of the few rough days of the season for an otherwise reliable Boilermaker bullpen, which could prove to be a big weapon this week. The Buckeyes dropped to seventh in the standings after losing two of three at Michigan State coupled with sweeps by Indiana and Iowa.
Ohio State won the Big Ten Tournament when it was last held at TD Ameritrade Park in 2016. Like Alexander Field in West Lafayette, TD Ameritrade Park features a full natural grass playing surface and is 408 feet to center field.
Landyn Griffith has remained with us in spirit over this last month of memorable on-field success. Our Boilers remain grateful to have been a small part of #TeamLandyn this season. #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/KCdFPEH4s8
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) May 22, 2018
WELCOME (BACK) TO NEBRASKA
Purdue is 4-2 in Lincoln, Nebraska, since the Huskers joined the Big Ten during the 2011-12 school year. But the Boilermakers have never played in Omaha, long considered the promised land for college baseball immortality.
Second year head coach Mark Wasikowski was deserving of Big Ten Coach of the Year consideration after guiding Purdue to a second-place finish. The Boilermakers were picked 11th in the preseason coaches poll and did not have a first or second team honoree among the All-Big Ten teams announced Tuesday. But the coach of the regular-season champion has won Big Ten Coach of the Year every season dating back to 2007.
Wasikowski has played and coached in Omaha. He was the starting third baseman on Pepperdine's 1992 College World Series championship team. He was also an assistant at Arizona when the Wildcats qualified for the CWS in 2004. Fifth-year assistant coach Wally Crancer also played in the CWS with Georgia Tech in 2006. All of those experiences came at historic Rosenblatt Stadium, which TD Ameritrade Park replaced in 2011.
Couple stitches aren't going to keep our feisty third baseman @Evan_Warden off the field. He breaks down the 9th inning of Saturday's win vs. Michigan & looks ahead to the postseason. #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/dhrymGi1SW
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) May 21, 2018
MORE ON THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
Purdue was 6-6 against the 2018 Big Ten Tournament field this year, highlighted by a sweep of No. 3 seed Michigan to close the regular season. The Boilermakers split their four games with rival Indiana, lost two of three at Ohio State and were swept in an abbreviated two-game set vs. Big Ten champion Minnesota. Purdue is 19-3 since that series vs. the Gophers on April 13 to 14.
This year's field is unique in that it is comprised entirely of schools that have been part of the Big Ten since the 1950s. The four newest members of the league -- Penn State, Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers -- all failed to qualify this year. It's the first time Nebraska has not made it since joining the conference. Illinois is back in the field after a two-year absence.
For the second year in a row, the Boilermakers have yet to play three of this year's Big Ten Tournament qualifiers -- Illinois, Iowa and Michigan State. Since the Illini and Spartans are in the other half of the bracket, Purdue would not have an opportunity to play either until Saturday at the earliest. Meanwhile, Iowa has won seven games at the Big Ten Tournament the last two seasons, making it to the championship game at TD Ameritrade Park as the No. 8 seed in 2016 and winning its first-ever tournament title last year in Bloomington (as the No. 5 seed).
The Boilermakers' series victory at Minnesota to close the 2017 regular season, their first in the Twin Cities since 2000, essentially prevented a conference championship three-peat for the Gophers. After winning the Big Ten title in 2016, Minnesota entered the final weekend last year controlling its own destiny to win the conference again.
PURDUE NATIONALLY RANKED BY COLLEGIATE BASEBALL
The Boilermakers swept four of their final five weekend series of the season during their impressive 18-2 run since April 20. The 4-0 week vs. Summit League champion Oral Roberts and Michigan coupled with the second place finish in the Big Ten standings earned Purdue a spot in Collegiate Baseball's latest top-30 national rankings. The Boilermakers are No. 27 this week, their first national ranking since the end of the 2012 Big Ten championship season in which they were one of 16 teams nationally to host an NCAA Regional.
Purdue was also receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll this week. The Boilermakers enter the Big Ten Tournament with an RPI of 40.
LEARNARD NAMED NATIONAL PITCHER OF THE WEEK BY PERFECT GAME
Ross Learnard closed out all four of the Boilermakers' wins last week, helping Purdue match a program record with 13 consecutive home victories. The four saves he earned vaulted him into the Big Ten seasonal lead (15) and made him the program's single-season record holder. He also caught the attention of Perfect Game. The lefty was named the Perfect Game/Rawlings National Pitcher of the Week. He's the first reliever to win the award this year.
Twice this season, Learnard has closed out four wins in a week. He accomplished the feat the week of April 16 to 22, earning a win and three saves to help ignite the 13-game win streak. In the sweeps of Maryland and Michigan, the senior worked a combined 7 2/3 innings of five-hit scoreless relief.
#Purdue closer Ross Learnard has closed out 4 wins in a week twice this season. His versatility & desire to take the ball could be a big weapon this week at the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha. #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/XiNAHFsUGw
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) May 22, 2018