GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Purdue (17-7, 5-4 Big Ten) at Michigan State (8-15, 3-6 Big Ten)
March 27-29 / Stream B1G+
Series Opener: Friday, March 26 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Middle Game: Saturday, March 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Series Finale: Sunday, March 28 at 1 p.m. ET
McLane Stadium / East Lansing, Mich.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: Cole Van Assen (Jr, RHP) vs. MSU’s Aidan Donovan (So, RHP)
Saturday: Zach Erdman (Sr, LHP) vs. MSU’s Carter Monke (Grad, RHP)
Sunday: TBA for Both Teams
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Michigan State leads 88-79
All-Time in East Lansing: MSU leads 46-29
Purdue under Greg Goff vs MSU: Purdue leads 7-3 (Since 2020)
Last Series: Purdue swept a 3-game set (April 2024 in West Lafayette)
Last Series in East Lansing: MSU won 2 of 3 (March 2023)
Purdue’s Last Series Win in East Lansing: Purdue won 2 of 3 (May 2009
First Meeting: Purdue 6, MSU 3 (May 1949 in West Lafayette)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Back on the road for the final weekend of March, Purdue Baseball continues its busy stretch of 10 games in 14 days with its first visit to Michigan State since the opening weekend of the 2023 Big Ten season.
First pitch at McLane Stadium in East Lansing is set for 3:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday. Like Alexander Field in West Lafayette, the Spartans’ home field also features an all-natural playing surface. Besides Big Ten newcomers UCLA and USC out in Southern California, around the conference only Nebraska and Penn State also play on natural grass and dirt home fields. McLane Stadium is also known for its unique dimensions in right field where the stadium borders the Red Cedar River. The tall right field wall sits atop a hill that is in play.
After beginning Big Ten play with consecutive road trips to Nebraska and Rutgers, Michigan State opened its home season last weekend by taking two of three against an Iowa team that brought a 13-6 record to East Lansing. The Spartans won Friday in shutout fashion (2-0) and routed the Hawkeyes (15-5) in game 2 of the series.
Michigan State is 54-33 at home since the start of the 2022 season. The final Big Ten Tournament bid in 2023 came down to Purdue and MSU – with the Spartans’ 17-4 home record that season playing a significant factor in earning that trip to Omaha. The Boilermakers have not won a series in East Lansing since 2009, dropping rubber games in 2013, 2014 and 2023 during that drought. They have managed to win at least one game in each of their last five trips to East Lansing.
Since 2010, the home team has won 19 of the 29 meetings in the Purdue-Michigan State series (excluding three neutral-site matchups).
The Boilermakers and Spartans both lit up the scoreboard in a midweek win this week. MSU scored a season-high 19 runs Tuesday in a win at Central Michigan. Purdue matched its season high with 18 runs Wednesday in a 31-run slugfest at Alexander.
The Boilermakers have scored 136 runs in 14 games this month, averaging 9.7 runs per game and posting a double-figure run total six times. Purdue hit a home run in nine straight games from March 8-22 and has also gone deep in eight of its first nine Big Ten games this season.
Pitchers and Michigan natives Gavin Beuter (Three Rivers) and Tro Fellings (Kalamazoo) return to their home state this weekend.
TEAM LEADERS IN MARCH (14-Game Totals)
• Brandon Rogers: 17-for-39 (.436/.522/.872), 3 2B, 3B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 4 BB, 3 HBP, 14 R, 4 SB
• Eli Anderson: 20-for-46 (.435/.480/.500), 3 2B, 10 RBI, 3 BB, HBP, 11 R, 4 SB
• Aaron Manias: 18-for-43 (.419/.544/.651), 4 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 7 BB, 6 HBP, 13 R, SB
• Dylan Drake: 18-for-44 (.409/.500/.795), 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 4 BB, 6 HBP, 12 R
• Sam Flores: 22-for-55 (.400/.484/.818), 5 2B, 6 HR, 20 RBI, 6 BB, 3 HBP, 18 R, 2 SB
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• Team Totals at the Plate: .333/.430/.571, 31 2B, 5 3B, 25 HR, 129 RBI, 58 BB, 32 HBP, 19-24 SB
• Outscored Opponents 136-87 while having a .984 to .952 edge in fielding percentage
WEEKEND #4 OF BIG TEN PLAY
• Purdue (5-4) at Michigan State (3-6)
• Illinois (4-5) at Penn State (2-4)
• Indiana (3-6) at Nebraska (5-1)
• UCLA (9-0) at Iowa (3-3)
• USC (8-1) at Maryland (1-5)
• Northwestern (2-4) at Washington (4-5)
• Ohio State (1-5) at Minnesota (2-4)
• Michigan (1-5) at Rutgers (3-3)
• Oregon (7-2) at UC Santa Barabara – Non-Conference
ACTIVE STREAKS
• Brandon Rogers: 17-game on-base; 6-game hit; 13-game on base in Big Ten play (Since April 27, 2025)
• Westin Boyle: 11-game on-base; 7-game on-base in Big Ten play
• Dylan Drake: 10-game hit; 6-game hit in Big Ten play
• Eli Anderson: 7-game hit
• Purdue has hit a home run in 7 consecutive Big Ten games
BOILERMAKERS AMONG THE TOP 10 IN THE BIG TEN
• Trevor Kester-Johnson – 1st in Appearances (16); Also 1st Nationally
• Eli Anderson – 3rd in Steals (11), 5th in Avg (.400)
• Aaron Manias – 4th in OBP (.494), 9th in HBP (8)
• Jake Kramer – 4th in Saves (4), 6th in Appearances (12)
• Westin Boyle – T-4th in Triples (2), T-6th in Sac Bunts (3)
• Dylan Drake – T-4th in Triple (2)
• Sam Flores – 6th in OPS (1.149), T-6th in Total Bases (65), 8th in Hits (36), 8th in Avg (.383), 8th in SLUG (.691), 10th in HR (7)
• Zach Erdman – 7th in Fewest Walks per 9 Innings (2.43)
• Jackson Greer – 9th in Appearances (11)
• Brandon Rogers – 10th in Avg (.379), 10th in OPS (1.112)
ERDMAN IN PURDUE’S 2-1 WINS
Aaron Manias delivered the 2-run single in the victories vs. Portland & Oregon
• Feb. 14 vs Portland: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K
• March 7 vs Oregon: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, BB, 7 K
• March 21 vs Penn State: 7 IP, 5 H, R, 3 BB, 0 K
• Combined: 20 IP, 13 H, R, 4 BB, 14 K, 0.45 ERA, .188 B/Avg, 0.85 WHIP
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BEST 20-GAME STARTS IN PROGRAM HISTORY (SINCE 1975) |
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|
Year |
After 10 Games |
After 15 Games |
After 20 Games |
Entering B1G |
Final Record |
|
2025 |
10-0 |
14-1 |
18-2 |
12-1 |
31-23 |
|
2022 |
10-0 |
15-0 |
18-2 |
17-1 |
29-21 |
|
1991 |
7-3 |
12-3 |
17-3 |
16-3 |
35-21 |
|
2012 |
9-1 |
14-1 |
16-4 |
14-3 |
45-14 |
|
1993 |
8-2 |
13-2 |
16-4 |
15-2 |
36-22 |
|
2024 |
7-3 |
11-4 |
15-5 |
15-7 |
33-24 |
|
2026 |
7-3 |
10-5 |
14-6 |
8-3 |
17-7 as of March 26 |
|
2011 |
8-2 |
11-4 |
13-7 |
16-8 |
37-20 |
|
2000 |
7-3 |
9-6 |
13-7 |
10-6 |
35-23 |
|
1989 |
7-3 |
11-4 |
13-7 |
12-5 |
34-25 |
|
1985 |
5-5 |
10-5 |
13-7 |
17-12 |
33-25 |
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TWO-HOMER GAMES IN THE BBCOR BAT ERA (Since 2011) |
|
|
• Brandon Rogers vs UIC – March 25, 2026 (at Alexander) |
• Troy Viola vs Michigan – April 29, 2022 (at Alexander) |
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HOMERED IN 4+ CONSECUTIVE WEEKENDS (Since 2001) |
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|
Year |
Player |
Consecutive Weekends |
Total Home Runs |
Opponents |
|
2025 |
7 |
8 |
vs Stephen F. Austin |
|
|
2022 |
6 |
8 |
vs Longwood Bellarmine |
|
|
2021 |
5 |
6 |
Iowa |
|
|
2026 |
4 |
7 |
vs Marist |
|
|
2015 |
4 |
5 |
at Michigan |
|
|
2012 |
4 |
4 |
at Nebraska |
|
|
2008 |
4 |
4 |
at Ohio |
|
|
2007 |
4 |
5 |
Ohio State |
|
|
2003 |
Nick McIntyre |
4 |
7 |
at Middle Tenn. St. |