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WEEKEND SERIES INFORMATION
Purdue (38-21 in 2018) vs. No. 21 Southern Miss (44-18 in 2018)
Friday to Sunday, Feb. 15 to 17
Pete Taylor Park / Hattiesburg, Mississippi
All-Time Series: Purdue leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Purdue 10, USM 9 (March 2012 in Auburn, Alabama)
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: Dalton Parker (Jr, RHP) vs. USM's Walker Powell (Jr, RHP)
Saturday: Ryan Beard (Sr, LHP) vs. USM's Stevie Powers (Sr, LHP)
Sunday: Andrew Bohm (R-So, RHP) vs. TBA for USM
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue baseball's season-opening weekend features a stiff challenge against two-time defending Conference USA champion Southern Miss, as the Boilermakers visit the state of Mississippi for the first time in six years.
First pitch at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg is set for 5 p.m. ET on Friday, which is opening day of the college baseball season nationwide. Saturday's middle game is also slated for 5 p.m. and series concludes Sunday at 2 p.m.
SCENE SETTERS
• The Golden Eagles were 21-8 at home last year. The Boilermakers went 23-16 away from Alexander Field in 2018, winning 11 true road games and 12 more neutral-site affairs. Both teams were No. 2 seeds at NCAA Regionals.
• Purdue has won its season opener in each of its first two years under head coach Mark Wasikowski. The 2017 win at Texas State was the program's first opening day win since 2013, which marked the end of a three-year winning streak in season openers.
• The 2013 season also marked the last time the Boilermakers played in the state of Mississippi, taking on Samford and Mississippi State twice apiece at MSU's Dudy Noble Classic the second weekend of the campaign. Purdue's 1987 team was also sent to Starkville for the program's first-ever NCAA Regional appearance.
• The only previous meeting between Purdue and Southern Miss was at Auburn's tournament in March 2012. The Boilermakers scored seven times with two outs in the seventh inning to rally for a 10-9 win. That was victory No. 3 during a 10-game win streak that propelled Purdue to a program-record 14-1 start.
• The Boilermakers have not played a Conference USA opponent since a February 2014 series at Rice. This year's pre-conference schedule is on par, if not more challenging, than the 2014 slate that featured weekend series at Tennessee, Rice, LSU and San Diego State. Missouri State was also in the mix for weekend No. 3 that year, but the series was canceled due to weather.
• The first five weekend opponents this year – Southern Miss, Texas, Oral Roberts, Creighton and Jacksonville State – all won 30-plus games and had a combined record of 190-102 in 2018. D1Baseball.com has all but Creighton as predicted NCAA Regional qualifiers this season. Because road wins are more valuable in the RPI formula, a competitive showing over the first month could really help Purdue in the pursuit of another NCAA Regional bid. The Boilermakers' strength of schedule should be among the top 25 nationally entering Big Ten play regardless.
PARKER MOVES FROM RELIEF ACE TO FRIDAY STARTER
• Dalton Parker makes the move from the bullpen to weekend rotation to begin his junior campaign, joining Ryan Beard and Andrew Bohm. While Beard (48 of 59) and Bohm (22 1/3 of 30) both pitched the majority of their innings as starters last year, 33 of Parker's 34 career appearances have been as a reliever. His longest outing remains his first as a Boilermaker, working five innings of one-hit relief to earn the win at Texas State in game No. 2 of the 2017 campaign. He's earned seven wins and six saves as a Boilermaker, factoring in the decision in 47 percent of his career outings (including the three losses he's been charged with).
• Parker has been remarkably stingy in giving up hits. He has surrendered only 52 in 71 career innings, with just 12 going for extra bases. As a sophomore, he gave up only two extra-base hits (both doubles) in 28 innings. He needs just four more innings to qualify for Purdue's list of all-time leaders. His mark of 6.59 hits per nine innings would be good for fourth place in program history.
PURDUE'S TOP PERFORMERS AGAINST 2018 REGIONAL QUALIFIERS
• Ben Nisle: .422/.452/.688, 8 2B, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 5 BB, 11 R, 2 SB
• Skyler Hunter: .350/.413/.413, 3 2B, 3B, 10 RBI, 6 BB, 4 HBP, 18 R, 3 SB
• Nick Evarts: .278/.297/.361, 3 2B, 3 RBI, BB, 4 R, 2 SB
• Tyler Powers: .270/.372/.297, 2B, RBI, 5 BB, 8 R
• Trent Johnson: 6 App, 10 1/3 IP, 8 H, 7 BB, 11 K, 2.61 ERA, .216 B/Avg
PURDUE'S TOP PERFORMERS AWAY FROM ALEXANDER IN 2018
• Skyler Hunter: .361/.409/.437, 8 2B, 2 3B, 23 RBI, 9 BB, 6 HBP, 34 R, 7 SB
• Ben Nisle: .313/.352/.508, 8 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 8 BB, 18 R, 2 SB
• Charlie Nasuti: .291/.385/.309, 2B, 5 RBI, 9 BB, 10 R, 2 SB
• Tyler Powers: .283/.403/.317, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 12 BB, 16 BB, 3 SB
• Dalton Parker: 12 App, 19 2/3 IP, 14 H, 5 BB, 16 K, 1.83 ERA, .203 B/Avg
• Trent Johnson: 15 App, 32 1/3 IP, 18 H, 22 BB, 31 K, 1.95 ERA, .165 B/Avg
QUICK LOOK AT SOUTHERN MISS
• The Golden Eagles have made 12 NCAA Regional appearances since 2003, including each of the last three seasons. They hosted Regionals in 2003 and 2017 and qualified for the College World Series in 2009.
• The Golden Eagles' top player is preseason All-American Matt Wallner. The outfielder from Minnesota led USM with 16 home runs and 67 RBI last season while posting a .351/.474/.618 slash line. He's also a relief pitcher with a mid-90s fastball, but will be reportedly be limited to a designated hitter role this weekend due to forearm soreness.
• Hunter Slater is also back at first base after hitting 12 home runs to go along with 75 hits, 55 RBI, 30 walks and 50 runs scored as a junior.
• Walker Powell (62 Ks vs. 14 walks in 83 IP, 3.80 ERA) and Stevie Powers (73 Ks vs. 13 walks in 73 IP, 4.07 ERA) return to the rotation after being used exclusively as starting pitchers last year. They had similar numbers in 2018, including excellent strikeout-to-walk ratios.
• Mason Strickland (2.74 ERA in 49 1/3 IP) headlines the returning relievers after pitching in a team-high 24 games in 2018. He registered 29 strikeouts vs. 6 walks while surrendering fewer hits (47) than innings pitched, indicating he pitched to contact successfully and the opposition had a substandard batting average on balls in play against him.
WEEKEND SERIES INFORMATION
Purdue (38-21 in 2018) vs. No. 21 Southern Miss (44-18 in 2018)
Friday to Sunday, Feb. 15 to 17
Pete Taylor Park / Hattiesburg, Mississippi
All-Time Series: Purdue leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Purdue 10, USM 9 (March 2012 in Auburn, Alabama)
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: Dalton Parker (Jr, RHP) vs. USM's Walker Powell (Jr, RHP)
Saturday: Ryan Beard (Sr, LHP) vs. USM's Stevie Powers (Sr, LHP)
Sunday: Andrew Bohm (R-So, RHP) vs. TBA for USM
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue baseball's season-opening weekend features a stiff challenge against two-time defending Conference USA champion Southern Miss, as the Boilermakers visit the state of Mississippi for the first time in six years.
First pitch at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg is set for 5 p.m. ET on Friday, which is opening day of the college baseball season nationwide. Saturday's middle game is also slated for 5 p.m. and series concludes Sunday at 2 p.m.
SCENE SETTERS
• The Golden Eagles were 21-8 at home last year. The Boilermakers went 23-16 away from Alexander Field in 2018, winning 11 true road games and 12 more neutral-site affairs. Both teams were No. 2 seeds at NCAA Regionals.
• Purdue has won its season opener in each of its first two years under head coach Mark Wasikowski. The 2017 win at Texas State was the program's first opening day win since 2013, which marked the end of a three-year winning streak in season openers.
• The 2013 season also marked the last time the Boilermakers played in the state of Mississippi, taking on Samford and Mississippi State twice apiece at MSU's Dudy Noble Classic the second weekend of the campaign. Purdue's 1987 team was also sent to Starkville for the program's first-ever NCAA Regional appearance.
• The only previous meeting between Purdue and Southern Miss was at Auburn's tournament in March 2012. The Boilermakers scored seven times with two outs in the seventh inning to rally for a 10-9 win. That was victory No. 3 during a 10-game win streak that propelled Purdue to a program-record 14-1 start.
• The Boilermakers have not played a Conference USA opponent since a February 2014 series at Rice. This year's pre-conference schedule is on par, if not more challenging, than the 2014 slate that featured weekend series at Tennessee, Rice, LSU and San Diego State. Missouri State was also in the mix for weekend No. 3 that year, but the series was canceled due to weather.
• The first five weekend opponents this year – Southern Miss, Texas, Oral Roberts, Creighton and Jacksonville State – all won 30-plus games and had a combined record of 190-102 in 2018. D1Baseball.com has all but Creighton as predicted NCAA Regional qualifiers this season. Because road wins are more valuable in the RPI formula, a competitive showing over the first month could really help Purdue in the pursuit of another NCAA Regional bid. The Boilermakers' strength of schedule should be among the top 25 nationally entering Big Ten play regardless.
??? with @Waz4412
— Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) February 14, 2019
Ready to start the season! #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/y9MM94bUzJ
PARKER MOVES FROM RELIEF ACE TO FRIDAY STARTER
• Dalton Parker makes the move from the bullpen to weekend rotation to begin his junior campaign, joining Ryan Beard and Andrew Bohm. While Beard (48 of 59) and Bohm (22 1/3 of 30) both pitched the majority of their innings as starters last year, 33 of Parker's 34 career appearances have been as a reliever. His longest outing remains his first as a Boilermaker, working five innings of one-hit relief to earn the win at Texas State in game No. 2 of the 2017 campaign. He's earned seven wins and six saves as a Boilermaker, factoring in the decision in 47 percent of his career outings (including the three losses he's been charged with).
• Parker has been remarkably stingy in giving up hits. He has surrendered only 52 in 71 career innings, with just 12 going for extra bases. As a sophomore, he gave up only two extra-base hits (both doubles) in 28 innings. He needs just four more innings to qualify for Purdue's list of all-time leaders. His mark of 6.59 hits per nine innings would be good for fourth place in program history.
PURDUE'S TOP PERFORMERS AGAINST 2018 REGIONAL QUALIFIERS
• Ben Nisle: .422/.452/.688, 8 2B, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 5 BB, 11 R, 2 SB
• Skyler Hunter: .350/.413/.413, 3 2B, 3B, 10 RBI, 6 BB, 4 HBP, 18 R, 3 SB
• Nick Evarts: .278/.297/.361, 3 2B, 3 RBI, BB, 4 R, 2 SB
• Tyler Powers: .270/.372/.297, 2B, RBI, 5 BB, 8 R
• Trent Johnson: 6 App, 10 1/3 IP, 8 H, 7 BB, 11 K, 2.61 ERA, .216 B/Avg
PURDUE'S TOP PERFORMERS AWAY FROM ALEXANDER IN 2018
• Skyler Hunter: .361/.409/.437, 8 2B, 2 3B, 23 RBI, 9 BB, 6 HBP, 34 R, 7 SB
• Ben Nisle: .313/.352/.508, 8 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 8 BB, 18 R, 2 SB
• Charlie Nasuti: .291/.385/.309, 2B, 5 RBI, 9 BB, 10 R, 2 SB
• Tyler Powers: .283/.403/.317, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 12 BB, 16 BB, 3 SB
• Dalton Parker: 12 App, 19 2/3 IP, 14 H, 5 BB, 16 K, 1.83 ERA, .203 B/Avg
• Trent Johnson: 15 App, 32 1/3 IP, 18 H, 22 BB, 31 K, 1.95 ERA, .165 B/Avg
QUICK LOOK AT SOUTHERN MISS
• The Golden Eagles have made 12 NCAA Regional appearances since 2003, including each of the last three seasons. They hosted Regionals in 2003 and 2017 and qualified for the College World Series in 2009.
• The Golden Eagles' top player is preseason All-American Matt Wallner. The outfielder from Minnesota led USM with 16 home runs and 67 RBI last season while posting a .351/.474/.618 slash line. He's also a relief pitcher with a mid-90s fastball, but will be reportedly be limited to a designated hitter role this weekend due to forearm soreness.
• Hunter Slater is also back at first base after hitting 12 home runs to go along with 75 hits, 55 RBI, 30 walks and 50 runs scored as a junior.
• Walker Powell (62 Ks vs. 14 walks in 83 IP, 3.80 ERA) and Stevie Powers (73 Ks vs. 13 walks in 73 IP, 4.07 ERA) return to the rotation after being used exclusively as starting pitchers last year. They had similar numbers in 2018, including excellent strikeout-to-walk ratios.
• Mason Strickland (2.74 ERA in 49 1/3 IP) headlines the returning relievers after pitching in a team-high 24 games in 2018. He registered 29 strikeouts vs. 6 walks while surrendering fewer hits (47) than innings pitched, indicating he pitched to contact successfully and the opposition had a substandard batting average on balls in play against him.