GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Purdue (27-16, 7-9 B1G) at Northwestern (21-23, 7-11 B1G)
Friday, May 13 to Sunday, May 15 / Watch B1G+
Series Opener: Friday, May 13 at 4:30 p.m. ET
Middle Game: Saturday, May 14 at 3 p.m. ET
Series Finale: Sunday, May 15 at Noon ET
Rocky & Berenice Miller Park / Evanston, Illinois
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: CJ Backer (So, RHP) vs. NU's Sean Sullivan (Fr, LHP)
Saturday: Wyatt Wendell (R-Jr, RHP) vs. NU's Michael Farinelli (Grad, RHP)
Sunday: Troy Wansing (Fr, LHP) vs. NU's Grant Comstock (Fr, RHP)
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Northwestern leads 116-95-2
All-Time in Evanston: Purdue leads 53-49-1
Last Series: Purdue won 2 of 3 in Evanston (March 2019)
First Meeting: Northwestern 10, Purdue 3 (1900 in Evanston)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – As the Big Ten Tournament chase nears its climax, Purdue baseball faces what amounts to a make-or-break series at Northwestern, with the winner earning the inside track to a berth in Omaha.
First pitch at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park in Evanston is slated for 4:30 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (all times ET). Due to a COVID-19 pause for the Wildcats in early May last season, Northwestern was the only Big Ten team the Boilermakers did not play during 2021's unique conference-only 42-game schedule.
Purdue has not played NU since the opening weekend of the 2019 Big Ten season. The Boilermakers have played 130 games vs. 37 different teams since their last series with Northwestern.
While Purdue did not win its series last weekend in Iowa City, by going 3-3 vs. Michigan and Iowa – which were a combined 16-8 in Big Ten play as of April 29 – the Boilermakers kept themselves relevant in the Big Ten Tournament chase. They also got some help from the teams at the bottom of the standings last weekend. Ohio State scored 45 runs in its sweep at Northwestern and Minnesota rallied to take two of three vs. Nebraska. Penn State's sweep of Michigan State in Happy Valley also helped Purdue's cause.
With Purdue and Northwestern playing each other this weekend coupled with Nebraska having to play at Illinois (14-3 at home) before hosting Michigan State next weekend, the winner of the Purdue-NU series is likely to move into the driver's seat among those four teams for a berth in the Big Ten Tournament.
If the Boilermakers can go 3-3 over the next two weekends, with at least two of those wins coming this weekend in Evanston, it should be enough for a return trip to Omaha for the conference tournament. If they lose two of three this weekend, they'll likely need some help around the league next weekend while also potentially needing multiple wins against a Maryland (38-10) team with the best overall record in the league.
WEEKEND NUMBER 8 OF BIG TEN PLAY
Conference records in parentheses
• Purdue (7-9) at Northwestern (7-11)
• Nebraska (7-11) at Illinois (12-6)
• Minnesota (4-14) at Indiana (8-10)
• Maryland (13-5) at Michigan (10-8)
• Iowa (12-6) at Michigan State (6-12)
• Penn State (10-8) at Ohio State (6-13)
• Bowling Green at Rutgers (16-5) – Non-Conference
FINAL WEEKEND OF BIG TEN/REGULAR SEASON (May 19-21)
• Maryland at Purdue
• Northwestern at Minnesota
• Michigan State at Nebraska
• Rutgers at Michigan
• Indiana at Iowa
• Illinois at Penn State
• USC Upstate at Ohio State
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT CHASE OPPONENT BREAKDOWN
Top 4 of the 7 would qualify for Big Ten Tournament
• Penn State (10-8): at Ohio State (6-13), Illinois (12-6) – Combined: 18-19 (.486)
• Michigan (10-8): at Maryland (13-5), Rutgers (16-5) – Combined: 29-10 (.744)
• Indiana (8-10): Minnesota (4-14), at Iowa (12-6) – Combined: 16-20 (.444)
• Purdue (7-9): at Northwestern (7-11), Maryland (13-5) – Combined: 20-16 (.555)
• Northwestern (7-8): Purdue (7-9), at Minnesota (4-14) – Combined: 11-23 (.324)
• Nebraska (7-11): at Illinois (12-6), Michigan State (6-12) – Combined: 18-18 (.500)
• Michigan State (6-12): Iowa (12-6), at Nebraska (7-11) – Combined: 19-17 (.528)
PLAYING CLOSE(R) TO HOME
Purdue has eight players with hometowns that are within 100 miles of Evanston. Six of the eight players are the on travel roster this weekend...
• Ryan Howe – Mount Prospect
• Mike Bolton Jr. & Cam Hill – Chicago's South Side
• Ricky Castro – Naperville
• Carter Doorn & Ty Gill – Northwest Indiana
• Paul Toetz & Evan Albrecht – Milwaukee Suburbs of Greendale & West Bend
PURDUE NOTABLES
• Purdue stole its 100th base of the season Tuesday vs. Butler and with 102 steals is now only four shy of the program record (106) from 2000.
• Cam Thompson is riding a 43-game on-base streak, reaching base safely in every game this season. It is believed to be the third longest active streak in the country.
• Troy Viola is riding a 15-game on-base streak in Big Ten play dating back to April 1 at Illinois. Viola's .421 batting average and .554 on-base percentage in Big Ten play are both No. 2 in the league.
• The Boilermakers lead the Big Ten with a .988 fielding percentage in conference play.
• Khal Stephen has struck out 11 of the 18 batters faced (61%) over 4 2/3 innings inning in his last two appearances. In the outings vs. Iowa and Butler, he struck out at least five and at least half of the batters he faced. He became the ninth active Boilermaker with an outing with at least 5 Ks while striking at least half the batters he faced. Purdue has posted 10 such outings dating back to the start of the 2021 campaign. From 2005 to 2020, the Boilermakers only had seven such outings.
Purdue (27-16, 7-9 B1G) at Northwestern (21-23, 7-11 B1G)
Friday, May 13 to Sunday, May 15 / Watch B1G+
Series Opener: Friday, May 13 at 4:30 p.m. ET
Middle Game: Saturday, May 14 at 3 p.m. ET
Series Finale: Sunday, May 15 at Noon ET
Rocky & Berenice Miller Park / Evanston, Illinois
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: CJ Backer (So, RHP) vs. NU's Sean Sullivan (Fr, LHP)
Saturday: Wyatt Wendell (R-Jr, RHP) vs. NU's Michael Farinelli (Grad, RHP)
Sunday: Troy Wansing (Fr, LHP) vs. NU's Grant Comstock (Fr, RHP)
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Northwestern leads 116-95-2
All-Time in Evanston: Purdue leads 53-49-1
Last Series: Purdue won 2 of 3 in Evanston (March 2019)
First Meeting: Northwestern 10, Purdue 3 (1900 in Evanston)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – As the Big Ten Tournament chase nears its climax, Purdue baseball faces what amounts to a make-or-break series at Northwestern, with the winner earning the inside track to a berth in Omaha.
First pitch at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park in Evanston is slated for 4:30 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (all times ET). Due to a COVID-19 pause for the Wildcats in early May last season, Northwestern was the only Big Ten team the Boilermakers did not play during 2021's unique conference-only 42-game schedule.
Purdue has not played NU since the opening weekend of the 2019 Big Ten season. The Boilermakers have played 130 games vs. 37 different teams since their last series with Northwestern.
| BEEN A WHILE SINCE THE LAST VISIT | |||
| Opponent | Last Road Series | Head-to-Head Games Since Last Trip | Purdue's Total Games Since Last Trip |
| Michigan | April 17-18, 2015 | 14 | 391 |
| Northwestern | March 22-24, 2019 | 0 | 130 |
| Nebraska | April 5-7, 2019 | 4 | 123 |
| Rutgers | April 19-21, 2019 | 3 | 115 |
While Purdue did not win its series last weekend in Iowa City, by going 3-3 vs. Michigan and Iowa – which were a combined 16-8 in Big Ten play as of April 29 – the Boilermakers kept themselves relevant in the Big Ten Tournament chase. They also got some help from the teams at the bottom of the standings last weekend. Ohio State scored 45 runs in its sweep at Northwestern and Minnesota rallied to take two of three vs. Nebraska. Penn State's sweep of Michigan State in Happy Valley also helped Purdue's cause.
With Purdue and Northwestern playing each other this weekend coupled with Nebraska having to play at Illinois (14-3 at home) before hosting Michigan State next weekend, the winner of the Purdue-NU series is likely to move into the driver's seat among those four teams for a berth in the Big Ten Tournament.
If the Boilermakers can go 3-3 over the next two weekends, with at least two of those wins coming this weekend in Evanston, it should be enough for a return trip to Omaha for the conference tournament. If they lose two of three this weekend, they'll likely need some help around the league next weekend while also potentially needing multiple wins against a Maryland (38-10) team with the best overall record in the league.
| POTENTIAL FINAL RECORDS | ||||
| 3-0 Next Weekend | 2-1 Next Weekend | 1-2 Next Weekend | 0-3 Next Weekend | |
| If Purdue Wins 2 of 3 at Northwestern… | ||||
| Purdue: 9-10 (.474) | 12-10 (.545) | 11-11 (.500) | 10-12 (.455) | 9-13 (.409) |
| NU: 8-13 (.381) | 11-13 (.458) | 10-14 (.417) | 9-15 (.375) | 8-16 (.333) |
| If Northwestern Wins 2 of 3 vs Purdue… | ||||
| NU: 9-12 (.429) | 12-12 (.500) | 11-13 (.458) | 10-14 (.417) | 9-15 (.375) |
| Purdue 8-11 (.421) | 11-11 (.500) | 10-12 (.455) | 9-13 (.409) | 8-14 (.364) |
| If Purdue Sweeps Northwestern… | ||||
| Purdue: 10-9 (.526) | 13-9 (.591) | 12-10 (.545) | 11-11 (.500) | 10-12 (.455) |
| NU: 7-14 (.333) | 10-14 (.417) | 9-15 (.375) | 8-16 (.333) | 7-17 (.292) |
| If Northwestern Sweeps Purdue… | ||||
| NU: 10-11 (.476) | 13-11 (.542) | 12-12 (.500) | 11-13 (.458) | 10-14 (.417) |
| Purdue: 7-12 (.368) | 10-12 (.455) | 9-13 (.409) | 8-14 (.364) | 7-15 (.318) |
| Nebraska's Potential Records – at Illinois, vs Michigan State | ||||
| Current Record | 6-0 Finish | 5-1 Finish | 4-2 Finish | 3-3 Finish |
| 7-11 (.389) | 13-11 (.542) | 12-12 (.500) | 11-13 (.458) | 10-14 (.417) |
WEEKEND NUMBER 8 OF BIG TEN PLAY
Conference records in parentheses
• Purdue (7-9) at Northwestern (7-11)
• Nebraska (7-11) at Illinois (12-6)
• Minnesota (4-14) at Indiana (8-10)
• Maryland (13-5) at Michigan (10-8)
• Iowa (12-6) at Michigan State (6-12)
• Penn State (10-8) at Ohio State (6-13)
• Bowling Green at Rutgers (16-5) – Non-Conference
FINAL WEEKEND OF BIG TEN/REGULAR SEASON (May 19-21)
• Maryland at Purdue
• Northwestern at Minnesota
• Michigan State at Nebraska
• Rutgers at Michigan
• Indiana at Iowa
• Illinois at Penn State
• USC Upstate at Ohio State
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT CHASE OPPONENT BREAKDOWN
Top 4 of the 7 would qualify for Big Ten Tournament
• Penn State (10-8): at Ohio State (6-13), Illinois (12-6) – Combined: 18-19 (.486)
• Michigan (10-8): at Maryland (13-5), Rutgers (16-5) – Combined: 29-10 (.744)
• Indiana (8-10): Minnesota (4-14), at Iowa (12-6) – Combined: 16-20 (.444)
• Purdue (7-9): at Northwestern (7-11), Maryland (13-5) – Combined: 20-16 (.555)
• Northwestern (7-8): Purdue (7-9), at Minnesota (4-14) – Combined: 11-23 (.324)
• Nebraska (7-11): at Illinois (12-6), Michigan State (6-12) – Combined: 18-18 (.500)
• Michigan State (6-12): Iowa (12-6), at Nebraska (7-11) – Combined: 19-17 (.528)
PLAYING CLOSE(R) TO HOME
Purdue has eight players with hometowns that are within 100 miles of Evanston. Six of the eight players are the on travel roster this weekend...
• Ryan Howe – Mount Prospect
• Mike Bolton Jr. & Cam Hill – Chicago's South Side
• Ricky Castro – Naperville
• Carter Doorn & Ty Gill – Northwest Indiana
• Paul Toetz & Evan Albrecht – Milwaukee Suburbs of Greendale & West Bend
| RECORDS WATCH | |
| STOLEN BASES • Team Record: 106 (2000 in 58 Games) • 2022 Team Total: 102 (in 43 Games) • Individual Record: 33 – Jeff Allison (in 1987) • 2022 Team Leaders… 28 – Curtis Washington Jr. (1st in B1G, T-13th Nationally) 26 – Mike Bolton Jr. (2nd in B1G, T-13th Nationally) HIT BY PITCH • Individual Record: 30 – Evan Warden (in 2017) • 2022 Team Leader: 25 – Cam Thompson (1st in B1G) |
STRIKEOUTS ON THE MOUND • Team Record: 477 (2019 in 54 Games) • 2022 Team Total: 422 (in 42 Games) • K/9 Team Record: 9.10 (2019 in 471.2 Innings) • 2022 Team Total: 9.75 (in 389.2 Innings) • Individual Record: 95 – Matt Bischoff (in 2010) • 2022 Team Leader: 79 – Jackson Smeltz (5th in B1G) • K/9 Record (60 IP): 10.89 – Trent Johnson (in 2019) • K/9 Record (30 IP): 11.68 – Randy Minniear (in 1965) • 2022 K/9 Team Leader: 12.40 – Jackson Smeltz (57 IP) |
PURDUE NOTABLES
• Purdue stole its 100th base of the season Tuesday vs. Butler and with 102 steals is now only four shy of the program record (106) from 2000.
• Cam Thompson is riding a 43-game on-base streak, reaching base safely in every game this season. It is believed to be the third longest active streak in the country.
• Troy Viola is riding a 15-game on-base streak in Big Ten play dating back to April 1 at Illinois. Viola's .421 batting average and .554 on-base percentage in Big Ten play are both No. 2 in the league.
• The Boilermakers lead the Big Ten with a .988 fielding percentage in conference play.
• Khal Stephen has struck out 11 of the 18 batters faced (61%) over 4 2/3 innings inning in his last two appearances. In the outings vs. Iowa and Butler, he struck out at least five and at least half of the batters he faced. He became the ninth active Boilermaker with an outing with at least 5 Ks while striking at least half the batters he faced. Purdue has posted 10 such outings dating back to the start of the 2021 campaign. From 2005 to 2020, the Boilermakers only had seven such outings.
| FANNED AT LEAST 5 & 50% OF BATTERS FACED | |||||
| Year | Pitcher | Opponent | Strikeouts | Batters Faced | Percent |
| 2022 | Khal Stephen | Butler | 5 | 6 | 83 |
| 2012 | Pat Gannon | vs Anderson | 5 | 7 | 71 |
| 2011 | Nick Wittgren | Iowa | 5 | 7 | 71 |
| 2008 | Josh Lindblom | at Iowa | 5 | 7 | 71 |
| 2019 | Trent Johnson | at Northwestern | 10 | 15 | 67 |
| 2014 | Joe Eichman | at Butler | 5 | 8 | 63 |
| 2022 | Nolan Daniel | at Iowa | 5 | 9 | 56 |
| 2022 | CJ Backer | UIC | 5 | 9 | 56 |
| 2007 | Allan Donato | at Western Kentucky | 5 | 9 | 56 |
| 2011 | Nick Wittgren | Michigan | 6 | 11 | 55 |
| 2021 | Ricky Castro | at Maryland | 8 | 15 | 53 |
| 2022 | Jackson Smeltz* | vs Princeton | 11 | 21 | 52 |
| 2022 | Khal Stephen | at Iowa | 6 | 12 | 50 |
| 2022 | Eric Hildebrand | at Penn State | 5 | 10 | 50 |
| 2022 | Landon Weins | vs South Dakota State | 7 | 14 | 50 |
| 2022 | Troy Wansing* | vs South Dakota State | 5 | 10 | 50 |
| 2021 | Jett Jackson* | vs Nebraska | 10 | 20 | 50 |
| * – Started Game | |||||
| BIG INNING BOILERMAKERS – PROLIFIC RALLIES THE LAST 2 SEASONS | ||||
| Date | Runs | Inning | Opponent | Game Result |
| 4/09/22 | 10 | B-8th | Indiana | W, 17-0 |
| 3/15/22 | 8 | B-4th | Dayton | W, 11-2 |
| 2/19/22 | 8 | B-7th | vs South Dakota St. | W, 14-3 |
| 5/10/22 | 7 | B-6th | Butler | W, 11-6 |
| 3/10/22 | 7 | B-1st | Bellarmine | W, 8-4 |
| 2/20/22 | 7 | B-1st | vs South Dakota St. | W, 10-7 |
| 5/21/21 | 7 | T-3rd | at Minnesota | W, 12-5 |
| 3/27/21 | 7 | B-9th | Rutgers | W, 7-4 |
| 5/01/22 | 6 | B-6th | Michigan | W, 12-4 |
| 4/29/22 | 6 | B-8th | Michigan | W, 18-4 |
| 4/10/22 | 6 | B-3rd | Indiana | W, 16-15 |
| 4/19/21 | 6 | T-9th | at Illinois | W, 20-6 |
| 4/03/21 | 6 | B-6th | Iowa | W, 10-8 |
| 4/15/22 | 5 | T-1st | at Penn State | W, 11-5 |
| 2/25/22 | 5 | B-7th | vs Princeton | W, 9-3 |
| 5/30/21 | 5 | B-6th | Minnesota | W, 7-6 |
| 4/23/21 | 5 | B-9th | Illinois | L, 6-5 |
| 4/19/21 | 5 | T-2nd | at Illinois | W, 20-6 |
| Scoring Breakdown – 10: 1, 8: 2, 7: 5, 6: 5, 5: 5 | ||||