ROSEMONT, Ill. – Jackson Smeltz's 13-strikeout domination of rival Indiana earned Purdue baseball's ace Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors.
Smeltz posted his career-high strikeout total, matching the most Ks ever by a Boilermaker lefthander, over eight innings of one-hit ball in a 17-0 series-opening victory Saturday at Alexander Field. Purdue went on to win its sixth straight home series vs. IU dating back to 2004.
Smeltz was also named a National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball on Monday. The announcement of the Big Ten weekly honors was delayed until Thursday due to an illness at the conference office.
Smeltz joins fellow lefty Troy Wansing – the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on March 23 – as Boilermakers to recognized by the conference office this season. Purdue had gone quite a while without a Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honoree.
• Last Boilermaker to win Big Ten Pitcher of the Week: Ross Learnard, April 2018
• Last Purdue starter to win Big Ten Pitcher of the Week: Gareth Stroh, April 2017
Smeltz's final stat line – 8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 13 K – produced a game score number of 90, making it the most dominant outing in the 10-year history of Alexander Field. It was also the top game score ever by a Purdue pitcher with at least 12 strikeouts and the best mark by a Boilermaker since the beginning of the 2012 campaign.
Smeltz struck out five consecutive batters from the top of the second through the end of the third inning. He punched out five his first time through the lineup, 10 of the first 18 batters he faced and 13 of the 27 overall. The only hit he surrendered was a leadoff single in the fourth inning, a runner that was immediately erased by a line drive double play.
Following a one-out walk in the eighth inning, head coach Greg Goff went to the mound and Smeltz said after the game he thought Goff was going to make a pitching change. Instead, Goff allowed Smeltz to make the decision. Smeltz chose to remain in the game and proceeded to strike out the next two batters, leaving the field to a big ovation from the crowd.
After throwing 121 pitches Saturday, the most of any Purdue pitcher this season, Smeltz is slated to start game 2 of this weekend's series at Penn State. The series begins Thursday at 6 p.m. ET and game 2 Friday is also set for 6 p.m.
Smeltz posted his career-high strikeout total, matching the most Ks ever by a Boilermaker lefthander, over eight innings of one-hit ball in a 17-0 series-opening victory Saturday at Alexander Field. Purdue went on to win its sixth straight home series vs. IU dating back to 2004.
Smeltz was also named a National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball on Monday. The announcement of the Big Ten weekly honors was delayed until Thursday due to an illness at the conference office.
Smeltz joins fellow lefty Troy Wansing – the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on March 23 – as Boilermakers to recognized by the conference office this season. Purdue had gone quite a while without a Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honoree.
• Last Boilermaker to win Big Ten Pitcher of the Week: Ross Learnard, April 2018
• Last Purdue starter to win Big Ten Pitcher of the Week: Gareth Stroh, April 2017
Smeltz's final stat line – 8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 13 K – produced a game score number of 90, making it the most dominant outing in the 10-year history of Alexander Field. It was also the top game score ever by a Purdue pitcher with at least 12 strikeouts and the best mark by a Boilermaker since the beginning of the 2012 campaign.
Smeltz struck out five consecutive batters from the top of the second through the end of the third inning. He punched out five his first time through the lineup, 10 of the first 18 batters he faced and 13 of the 27 overall. The only hit he surrendered was a leadoff single in the fourth inning, a runner that was immediately erased by a line drive double play.
Following a one-out walk in the eighth inning, head coach Greg Goff went to the mound and Smeltz said after the game he thought Goff was going to make a pitching change. Instead, Goff allowed Smeltz to make the decision. Smeltz chose to remain in the game and proceeded to strike out the next two batters, leaving the field to a big ovation from the crowd.
After throwing 121 pitches Saturday, the most of any Purdue pitcher this season, Smeltz is slated to start game 2 of this weekend's series at Penn State. The series begins Thursday at 6 p.m. ET and game 2 Friday is also set for 6 p.m.