Gameday Central / Tournament Central / 2017 vs. Illinois
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT INFORMATION / SEMIFINALS
No. 2-seed Purdue (36-18, 17-6 B1G) vs. No. 4-seed Illinois (33-19, 15-9 B1G)
Saturday, May 26 at 2:30 p.m. ET / BTN, BTN2Go, Fox Sports Go
TD Ameritrade Park / Omaha, Nebraska
Probable Pitching Matchup: Ryan Beard (Jr, LHP) vs. Illinois' Cyrillo Watson (So, RHP)
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Series: Illinois leads 159-84-1
All-Time at the Big Ten Tournament: Illinois leads 3-2
Last Meetings: Purdue swept a three-game series (April 2017 in West Lafayette)
Last Meeting at the Big Ten Tournament: Purdue 10, Illinois 5 (2006 in Ann Arbor)
OMAHA, Neb. - No. 27 Purdue baseball has drawn Illinois for Saturday's semifinal round at the Big Ten Tournament.
First pitch is set 2 p.m. ET at the home of the College World Series. Ohio State vs. Minnesota is the other semifinal matchup. Illinois and Ohio State will have to win twice Saturday to remain alive in the Big Ten Tournament.
Ohio State-Minnesota is set for 10 a.m. ET. Should OSU force the if-necessary rematch, it would be played after Purdue and Illinois are done. The Boilermakers and Illini will play a doubleheader if Illinois wins game 1.
Purdue has won 20 of its last 22 games dating back to April 20, but has not played Illinois this season. Both teams are in good position to qualify for the NCAA Tournament via at-large bids should they not win the Big Ten Tournament.
The Fighting Illini defeated Indiana in walk-off fashion late Friday. The 5-4 victory was the fourth walk-off final in the tournament's first 10 games. Because the Boilermakers have not been the designated visiting team yet at the Big Ten Tournament, Illinois receives that designation Saturday. Should the Illini force the game 2 rematch, Purdue would be the home team.
The Boilermakers have won the last two matchups with Illinois at the Big Ten Tournament. But the two regional rivals have not played in the postseason since Purdue's 2006 win in Ann Arbor. A year earlier, the Boilermakers eliminated the top-seeded Illini in walk-off fashion in Champaign. It was Purdue's first walk-off win at the Big Ten Tournament until Thursday's 5-4 win vs. Michigan.
The Big Ten Tournament championship game is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. It's a single game winner-take-all contest.
No days off. #BoilerUp #B1Gbaseball pic.twitter.com/LAvG999WFQ
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) May 25, 2018