WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Heavy rain showers Saturday morning coupled with afternoon storms and a travel curfew related to visiting Maryland's flight home from Chicago's Midway Airport led to the cancellation of Purdue baseball's home finale at Alexander Field.
Field preparation on Alexander's all-natural surface was delayed by morning rain Saturday. After the tarp was pulled, the field was ready for play about an hour after the originally scheduled 1 p.m. first pitch. But the forecast called for a significant line of thunderstorms and it prevented the teams from starting. Rain arrived during the three o'clock hour.
Due to Maryland's travel arrangements for its trip home on a flight from Midway during the 8 p.m. hour CT, the teams were not going to begin a fresh inning after 5 p.m. ET. The Terrapins had to be on the road by 5:30 p.m. ET for their flight. Alexander Field is 120 miles southeast of Midway.
Both coaching staffs were in agreement that starting a game that would be delayed by storms less than hour later was not the preferred approach on the final day of a series when pitching was at a premium. Purdue did not want its season to potentially end with a game that did not go the full nine innings.
Big Ten Conference rules dictate that a series must be finished within 48 hours of it beginning. A series that starts on a Thursday must be finished by Saturday. Saturday, May 21 was the final day of the regular season on the Big Ten schedule.
The Boilermakers' 9-12 Big Ten record and .428 winning percentage is good for a bid to the eight-team Big Ten Tournament next week in Omaha. Purdue's seeding will be determined by the Iowa-Indiana game Saturday night (9 p.m. ET on ESPNU) in Iowa City. If Iowa wins, the Boilermakers will be the 7-seed. Illinois, Rutgers and Iowa are all in contention for the 2-seed. If Indiana wins, the Boilermakers will be the 8-seed and play Maryland again Wednesday.
Purdue has had eight games canceled this season due to inclement weather.
Field preparation on Alexander's all-natural surface was delayed by morning rain Saturday. After the tarp was pulled, the field was ready for play about an hour after the originally scheduled 1 p.m. first pitch. But the forecast called for a significant line of thunderstorms and it prevented the teams from starting. Rain arrived during the three o'clock hour.
Due to Maryland's travel arrangements for its trip home on a flight from Midway during the 8 p.m. hour CT, the teams were not going to begin a fresh inning after 5 p.m. ET. The Terrapins had to be on the road by 5:30 p.m. ET for their flight. Alexander Field is 120 miles southeast of Midway.
Both coaching staffs were in agreement that starting a game that would be delayed by storms less than hour later was not the preferred approach on the final day of a series when pitching was at a premium. Purdue did not want its season to potentially end with a game that did not go the full nine innings.
Big Ten Conference rules dictate that a series must be finished within 48 hours of it beginning. A series that starts on a Thursday must be finished by Saturday. Saturday, May 21 was the final day of the regular season on the Big Ten schedule.
The Boilermakers' 9-12 Big Ten record and .428 winning percentage is good for a bid to the eight-team Big Ten Tournament next week in Omaha. Purdue's seeding will be determined by the Iowa-Indiana game Saturday night (9 p.m. ET on ESPNU) in Iowa City. If Iowa wins, the Boilermakers will be the 7-seed. Illinois, Rutgers and Iowa are all in contention for the 2-seed. If Indiana wins, the Boilermakers will be the 8-seed and play Maryland again Wednesday.
Purdue has had eight games canceled this season due to inclement weather.