ROSEMONT, Ill. – Luke Gaffney's trio of three-hit games as part of an eight-RBI, 10-hit week earned Purdue Baseball's 3-hole hitter his fourth Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor of the season.
Gaffney hit safely and scored a run in all four games as part of a 10-for-16 week that included a 6-for-7 showing with runners in scoring position. He had three hits Tuesday vs. Indiana State and in each of the final two games of the series sweep of Michigan State, raising his batting average on the year to .411.
Gaffney has joined Ohio State's Josh Desze (2011) and Iowa's Keaton Anthony (2022) as players to win Big Ten Freshman of the Week four times in their debut season since added the weekly honor in 2011. Desze and Anthony were both selected by the league coaches as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. No other player in the league has won Freshman of the Week more than once this season.
Gaffney doubled and homered in his first two at-bats Sunday as part of his second five-RBI game of the season. He became just the ninth Boilermaker since 2001 with multiple five-RBI games in a campaign. A day earlier he recorded his 40th RBI of the season, becoming the second-fastest Purdue player since 2001 to reach the benchmark.
Purdue leads the nation with 42 double plays turned, including five in the sweep of Michigan State. Gaffney's 3-6-3 turn with runners on the corners in the third inning Saturday was the most impressive of the twin killings and helped preserve Luke Wagner's shutout. Wagner needed only 79 pitches to work seven scoreless innings, facing no more than four batters in a frame. He had a fewer strikeouts but otherwise essentially matched Big Ten Pitcher of the Week Mason McConnaughey's performance (7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB) in Nebraska's Saturday win at Rutgers.
Gaffney continues to close in on a number of Purdue freshman records, all of which have stood for more than a decade and predate the BBCOR bat era (2011-present). He'll lead the Boilermakers back into action this week as they continue their nine-game April homestand at Alexander Field, beginning Tuesday with a 4 p.m. midweek matchup vs. Ball State.
4-TIME BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONOREES
Since the league added the award in 2011
2024: Luke Gaffney, Purdue
2022: Keaton Anthony, Iowa (6x)
2011: Josh Desze, Ohio State
Gaffney hit safely and scored a run in all four games as part of a 10-for-16 week that included a 6-for-7 showing with runners in scoring position. He had three hits Tuesday vs. Indiana State and in each of the final two games of the series sweep of Michigan State, raising his batting average on the year to .411.
Gaffney has joined Ohio State's Josh Desze (2011) and Iowa's Keaton Anthony (2022) as players to win Big Ten Freshman of the Week four times in their debut season since added the weekly honor in 2011. Desze and Anthony were both selected by the league coaches as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. No other player in the league has won Freshman of the Week more than once this season.
Gaffney doubled and homered in his first two at-bats Sunday as part of his second five-RBI game of the season. He became just the ninth Boilermaker since 2001 with multiple five-RBI games in a campaign. A day earlier he recorded his 40th RBI of the season, becoming the second-fastest Purdue player since 2001 to reach the benchmark.
Perhaps most impressive, Gaffney struck out just once for the week and has an equal number of walks and strikeouts (19) in 164 plate appearances this season.Fact: Luke Gaffney has big-time power to all fields. 💪@TheLukeGaffney x @PurdueBaseball pic.twitter.com/fN8SBw5rfy
— Big Ten Baseball (@B1Gbaseball) April 15, 2024
Purdue leads the nation with 42 double plays turned, including five in the sweep of Michigan State. Gaffney's 3-6-3 turn with runners on the corners in the third inning Saturday was the most impressive of the twin killings and helped preserve Luke Wagner's shutout. Wagner needed only 79 pitches to work seven scoreless innings, facing no more than four batters in a frame. He had a fewer strikeouts but otherwise essentially matched Big Ten Pitcher of the Week Mason McConnaughey's performance (7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB) in Nebraska's Saturday win at Rutgers.
Gaffney continues to close in on a number of Purdue freshman records, all of which have stood for more than a decade and predate the BBCOR bat era (2011-present). He'll lead the Boilermakers back into action this week as they continue their nine-game April homestand at Alexander Field, beginning Tuesday with a 4 p.m. midweek matchup vs. Ball State.
| GAFFNEY FRESHMAN RECORD WATCH | ||
| Statistical Category | Purdue Freshman Record | Gaffney's Total as of April 15 |
| RBI | 53 – Kevin Plawecki, 2010 | 46 |
| Run Scored | 50 – Brett Roach, 1986 | 41 |
| Doubles | 17 – Cameron Perkins, 2010 | 13 |
| Total Bases | 119 – Perkins (2010)/Roach (1986) | 96 |
| Hits | 74 – Cameron Perkins, 2010 | 58 |
| Batting Average | .371 – Eric Charles, 2009 | .411 |
| On-Base Percentage | .461 – Eric Charles, 2009 | .488 |
| Slugging Percentage | .583 – Brett Roach, 1986 | .681 |
| Home Runs | 12 – Brett Roach, 1986 | 7 |
| Triples | 5 – Eric Osborn, 2004 | 2 |
4-TIME BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONOREES
Since the league added the award in 2011
2024: Luke Gaffney, Purdue
2022: Keaton Anthony, Iowa (6x)
2011: Josh Desze, Ohio State