2018 Season Recap / Preseason Fan Fest on Feb. 10
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – With a Valentine's Day departure for the season-opening weekend at Southern Miss fast approaching, Purdue baseball spent the final Friday of January opening full preseason practice in the Mollenkopf Athletic Center.
At this time last year, mild temperatures and favorable weather allowed the Boilermakers to begin practice outdoors at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana. Local temperatures were in the teens on the first day of practice this year.
While Grand Park remains an option for Mark Wasikowski's team if temperatures rise during the coming weekends, Mollenkopf and the Madia Hitting Facility inside the clubhouse at Alexander Field remain the primary locations of the program's preseason practices. Traditionally, full team scrimmages have highlighted the weekend sessions.
The Boilermakers are striving to continue to build on the successes of Wasikowski's first two seasons as the leader of the program. The 2017 team posted a program-record 19-win improvement and returned to the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since winning it in 2012. Last year's team won 38 games, the second most in program history, thanks to a 21-2 surge from April 20 to May 26. The Boilermakers qualified for an NCAA Regional for the third time in program history after finishing as the runner-up in the Big Ten standings and at the conference tournament.
In just two seasons under Wasikowski, the Boilermakers have improved from 10-44 in 2016 to 38-21 in 2018. The 28-win improvement stands as one of the most remarkable two-year turnarounds in the history of Purdue Athletics.
The Boilermakers will have one additional returning letterwinner this year than their 2018 Opening Day roster, but nowhere close to the same level of statistical production is back. Having graduated seven seniors and also bid adieu to four important juniors, two going pro after being selected in the MLB Draft, Purdue's lineup and rotation for the season-opening weekend will be vastly different.
But that doesn't mean the Boilermakers won't keep winning. They're 67-48 under Wasikowski after managing to win just 60 games during the four-year stretch following the 2012 Big Ten championship season. Prior to both the 2017 and 2018 campaigns, most Big Ten preseason polls did not expect Purdue to be a factor. In many ways, the Boilermakers were motivated by those predictions and a perceived lack of respect. Their series wins against Indiana and Minnesota in 2017 helped Nebraska win the conference title. Last year, Purdue swept five of its eight conference weekends to finish second in the standings with its best winning percentage (17-6, .739) in league play since the Big Ten moved to a 24-game conference slate in 2009.
In 2018, newcomers Ryan Beard, Trevor Cheaney, Nick Evarts, Bo Hofstra, Trent Johnson, Ben Nisle and Tyler Powers all became regular contributors in their first seasons with the program. Andrew Bohm and Matt Moore did likewise as redshirt freshmen that had overcome Tommy John Surgery.
Purdue will look for a similar impact from its junior college transfers (3), redshirts (3) and true freshmen (12) this spring. That's a group of 18 ballplayers working to earn a spot on the field for the first time with the Boilermakers. There's also a smaller group of sophomores in position to earn additional playing time.
With three-year starters Nick Dalesandro and Jacson McGowan both having moved on to pro ball following their junior campaigns in 2018, Purdue will not have a four-year letterwinner on its roster this spring. Juniors Milo Beam, Bryce Bonner, Skyler Hunter and Dalton Parker have suddenly become the only Boilermakers that took the field during the 2017 season. They've all enjoyed memorable moments over the last two years, playing in a combined 304 games. With a team-high 143 hits as the starting center fielder the last two years, Hunter will have an opportunity to make a run at the program's all-time record (273) if he maintains his underclassman pace and remains healthy through the end of his senior season.
Purdue's first three weekend series are all against defending conference champions and NCAA Regional qualifiers. Southern Miss (44-18), Texas (42-23) and Oral Roberts (38-20) were a combined 124-61, with Texas advancing to the College World Series. The next two weekends at Creighton (34-16) and Jacksonville State (32-25) will also be series against 30-win teams from a year ago. It's easily the program's toughest pre-conference slate since 2014 (Tennessee, Rice, LSU, San Diego State).
The Boilermakers are hosting a preseason fan fest Sunday, Feb. 10 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Mollenkopf. It is free and open to fans of all ages. It will feature skill stations and an opportunity to collect autographs from the Boilermakers.
PURDUE BASEBALL BY THE NUMBERS
5 – Win streaks of at least six games in length in 115 games under Mark Wasikowski
8 – States Purdue will play games in this season
9 – Length of the season-long homestand at Alexander Field from April 23 to May 7
13 – Purdue's win streak at Alexander Field entering 2019, the third longest active run nationally
14 – Last at-bat wins the last two seasons, including six walk-offs
18 – Number of players that could make their Purdue debuts this season
+26 – Scoring edge (60-34) in the ninth inning under Wasikowski
17-5 – Purdue record in one-run games under Wasikowski
42-33 – Purdue record away from Alexander Field the last two seasons
54-2 – Purdue record when leading after seven innings under Wasikowski
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – With a Valentine's Day departure for the season-opening weekend at Southern Miss fast approaching, Purdue baseball spent the final Friday of January opening full preseason practice in the Mollenkopf Athletic Center.
At this time last year, mild temperatures and favorable weather allowed the Boilermakers to begin practice outdoors at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana. Local temperatures were in the teens on the first day of practice this year.
While Grand Park remains an option for Mark Wasikowski's team if temperatures rise during the coming weekends, Mollenkopf and the Madia Hitting Facility inside the clubhouse at Alexander Field remain the primary locations of the program's preseason practices. Traditionally, full team scrimmages have highlighted the weekend sessions.
The Boilermakers are striving to continue to build on the successes of Wasikowski's first two seasons as the leader of the program. The 2017 team posted a program-record 19-win improvement and returned to the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since winning it in 2012. Last year's team won 38 games, the second most in program history, thanks to a 21-2 surge from April 20 to May 26. The Boilermakers qualified for an NCAA Regional for the third time in program history after finishing as the runner-up in the Big Ten standings and at the conference tournament.
In just two seasons under Wasikowski, the Boilermakers have improved from 10-44 in 2016 to 38-21 in 2018. The 28-win improvement stands as one of the most remarkable two-year turnarounds in the history of Purdue Athletics.
The Boilermakers will have one additional returning letterwinner this year than their 2018 Opening Day roster, but nowhere close to the same level of statistical production is back. Having graduated seven seniors and also bid adieu to four important juniors, two going pro after being selected in the MLB Draft, Purdue's lineup and rotation for the season-opening weekend will be vastly different.
But that doesn't mean the Boilermakers won't keep winning. They're 67-48 under Wasikowski after managing to win just 60 games during the four-year stretch following the 2012 Big Ten championship season. Prior to both the 2017 and 2018 campaigns, most Big Ten preseason polls did not expect Purdue to be a factor. In many ways, the Boilermakers were motivated by those predictions and a perceived lack of respect. Their series wins against Indiana and Minnesota in 2017 helped Nebraska win the conference title. Last year, Purdue swept five of its eight conference weekends to finish second in the standings with its best winning percentage (17-6, .739) in league play since the Big Ten moved to a 24-game conference slate in 2009.
In 2018, newcomers Ryan Beard, Trevor Cheaney, Nick Evarts, Bo Hofstra, Trent Johnson, Ben Nisle and Tyler Powers all became regular contributors in their first seasons with the program. Andrew Bohm and Matt Moore did likewise as redshirt freshmen that had overcome Tommy John Surgery.
Purdue will look for a similar impact from its junior college transfers (3), redshirts (3) and true freshmen (12) this spring. That's a group of 18 ballplayers working to earn a spot on the field for the first time with the Boilermakers. There's also a smaller group of sophomores in position to earn additional playing time.
With three-year starters Nick Dalesandro and Jacson McGowan both having moved on to pro ball following their junior campaigns in 2018, Purdue will not have a four-year letterwinner on its roster this spring. Juniors Milo Beam, Bryce Bonner, Skyler Hunter and Dalton Parker have suddenly become the only Boilermakers that took the field during the 2017 season. They've all enjoyed memorable moments over the last two years, playing in a combined 304 games. With a team-high 143 hits as the starting center fielder the last two years, Hunter will have an opportunity to make a run at the program's all-time record (273) if he maintains his underclassman pace and remains healthy through the end of his senior season.
Purdue's first three weekend series are all against defending conference champions and NCAA Regional qualifiers. Southern Miss (44-18), Texas (42-23) and Oral Roberts (38-20) were a combined 124-61, with Texas advancing to the College World Series. The next two weekends at Creighton (34-16) and Jacksonville State (32-25) will also be series against 30-win teams from a year ago. It's easily the program's toughest pre-conference slate since 2014 (Tennessee, Rice, LSU, San Diego State).
The Boilermakers are hosting a preseason fan fest Sunday, Feb. 10 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Mollenkopf. It is free and open to fans of all ages. It will feature skill stations and an opportunity to collect autographs from the Boilermakers.
PURDUE BASEBALL BY THE NUMBERS
5 – Win streaks of at least six games in length in 115 games under Mark Wasikowski
8 – States Purdue will play games in this season
9 – Length of the season-long homestand at Alexander Field from April 23 to May 7
13 – Purdue's win streak at Alexander Field entering 2019, the third longest active run nationally
14 – Last at-bat wins the last two seasons, including six walk-offs
18 – Number of players that could make their Purdue debuts this season
+26 – Scoring edge (60-34) in the ninth inning under Wasikowski
17-5 – Purdue record in one-run games under Wasikowski
42-33 – Purdue record away from Alexander Field the last two seasons
54-2 – Purdue record when leading after seven innings under Wasikowski