GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Murray State (27-18, 12-6 MVC) at Purdue (29-15, 15-9 Big Ten)
May 1-3 / Stream B1G+
Series Opener: Friday, May 1 at 6 p.m. ET
Middle Game: Saturday, May 2 at 2 p.m. ET
Series Finale: Sunday, May 3 at 1 p.m. ET
Alexander Field / West Lafayette, Indiana
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: Cole Van Assen (Jr, RHP) vs. MSU’s Nic Schutte (Sr, RHP)
Saturday: Zach Erdman (Sr, LHP) vs. MSU’s Jacob Hustedde (Jr, RHP)
Sunday: Austin Klug (Sr, RHP) vs. MSU’s Drew Deremer (Jr, RHP)
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Murray State leads 36-17-2
All-Time in West Lafayette: First Meetings
Last Series: Purdue swept a 3-game set (March 2012 in Murray)
First meeting: Murray State 1, Purdue 0 (March 1961 in Murray)
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
Friday: Star Wars Night – Cosplay Characters & more from the Galaxy Far, Far Away; Canned Food Drive
Saturday: Picklepalooza – Purdue Pickleball Paddle Giveaway & more pickle-themed games
Sunday: PUDM/Riley Children’s Day – BP Jersey Online Auction; Trading Cards Set #3 Giveaway; Bark in the Park
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Missouri Valley Conference’s defending champion and first-place team comes to Alexander Field for the annual open weekend in the Big Ten schedule as Purdue Baseball hosts Murray State for the penultimate home series of the season.
First pitch at Alexander is set for 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. All three games feature a host of related promotions, headlined by Star Wars night Friday, a pickleball paddle giveaway Saturday and the Boilermakers’ annual batting practice jersey online auction Sunday (with proceeds benefitting Riley Children’s Health).
After winning MVC regular-season and tournament titles last season, Murray State made a surprise run to the College World Series. The Racers won an NCAA Regional at Ole Miss and a Super Regional at Duke to become the fourth Regional 4-seed to advance to Omaha (during the current 16-Regional format).
Friday’s game will mark the first time Alexander Field has hosted a pair of teams with 25-plus wins on May 1 or earlier. After posting a double-figure run total in each of the last two months, Purdue’s next checkmark is to reach the 30-win plateau by May 1 for the ninth time in program history. This century, the Boilers also achieved the feat in 2000, 2011, 2012 and 2024.
Purdue already has a victory this season vs. fellow 2025 College World Series qualifier Oregon State (Feb. 22 in Round Rock, Texas) and now has an opportunity to post multiple wins vs. MCWS teams from the year prior for the first time ever. The Racers will join Louisville (2014) as visiting teams to play at Alexander the year after an appearance at the College World Series. Alexander debuted in the spring of 2013.
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PURDUE WINS VS. COLLEGE WORLD SERIES TEAMS FROM PREVIOUS SEASON |
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|
Date |
Opponent |
Site of Game |
Final Score |
|
2/22/2026 |
vs Oregon State |
Round Rock, Texas |
5-2 |
|
2/23/2019 |
at Texas |
Austin, Texas |
4-0 |
|
2/24/2007 |
at Georgia |
Athens, Ga. |
5-0 |
|
3/03/2000 |
at Alabama |
Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
10-9 |
|
3/11/1993 |
vs Florida State |
Daytona Beach, Fla. |
11-1 |
|
5/13/1984 |
Michigan |
West Lafayette, Ind. |
11-7 |
|
4/18/1982 |
Michigan |
West Lafayette, Ind. |
2-1 |
|
5/03/1981 |
at Michigan |
Ann Arbor, Mich. |
3-1 |
|
4/27/1963 |
Michigan |
West Lafayette, Ind. |
6-3 |
|
5/03/1952 |
at Ohio State |
Columbus, Ohio |
8-1 |
Meanwhile, the Boilermakers are the 15th of the 17 Big Ten teams to have their open weekend in the conference schedule this season. Only USC (May 8-10) and Michigan State (May 14-16) drew later open weekends. Purdue has its open weekend in the Big Ten schedule in the month of May for the second time this decade and fifth time since the conference schedule expanded to an odd number of baseball teams in 2012.
The Boilermakers continue to remain in pursuit of a top-four finish in the Big Ten standings, which would earn them a bye into single-elimination quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament the week of May 19-24 in Omaha. Teams seeded fifth through 12th will play in a double-elimination bracket May 19-21, with four teams advancing to the weekend. Purdue (15-9) is tied with Oregon (15-6) in the win column and one game behind USC (16-8). Having lost series to both West Coast opponents, the Boilers will need to finish ahead of both in the standings to have a chance at a top-four seed.
WEEKEND #9 OF BIG TEN PLAY
• Nebraska (17-4) at Ohio State (10-11)
• Oregon (15-6) at Washington (9-12)
• Rutgers (9-12) at USC (16-8)
• Michigan (12-9) at Maryland (6-15)
• Illinois (9-12) at Iowa (10-11)
• UCLA (21-0) at Michigan State (10-14)
• Minnesota (8-13) at Penn State (5-16)
• Indiana (6-15) at Northwestern (5-16) – Friday at Wrigley Field
• Murray State at Purdue (15-9) – Non-Conference
Purdue and Murray State played each 51 times in the 1960s and 1970s, with the Boilermakers making 16 early-season trips to MSU’s campus in the southwest corner of Kentucky from 1961 to 1977. In the only matchup this century, Purdue’s 2012 Big Ten championship team opened its spring break trip with a decisive three-game sweep of the Racers in Kentucky, outscoring MSU 40-5.
Due to renovations at Murray State’s Johnny Reagan Field, the Racers have played 37 of their 45 games away campus this season. They played neutral-site games in Carbondale, Cape Girardeau, Nashville, Paducah and Evansville before opening their home schedule April 2. Murray State is 18-4 (5-3 home, 13-1 neutral) while batting last as the designated home team and 9-14 in its 23 true road games. In MVC play, the Racers have won four of their first six series – sweeping Valparaiso, Bradley and Illinois State. They’ve bounced back to win five of their last six MVC games after a 1-5 stretch while losing back-to-back series vs. Belmont and at UIC.
ACTIVE STREAKS
• Eli Anderson: 17-game hit at home
• Quincy Malbrough: 15-game on-base; 12-game on-base at home
• Westin Boyle: 8-game on-base at home
• CJ Richmond: 10-game on-base; 7-game on-base at home
• Aaron Manias: 5-game on-base
• Sam Flores: 5-game on-base at home
• Zach Zychowski: 5-game on-base at home
• Gavin Beuter: 15 1/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run; 11 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings
• Jake Kramer: 12 consecutive scoreless innings at home
BOILERMAKERS AMONG THE TOP 10 IN THE BIG TEN
• Trevor Kester-Johnson: T-1st in Appearances (28); Also T-1st Nationally
• Eli Anderson: 1st in Steals (20)
• Aaron Manias: 3rd in OBP (.487), 4th in HBP (18)
• Austin Klug: T-4th in Victories (6)
• Jake Kramer: T-6th in Appearances (22), T-6th in Saves (6)
• Sam Flores: 9th in Hits (61), 10th in RBI (46)
• Zach Erdman: 6th in Fewest Walks per 9 Innings (2.19), 7th in Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (3.50)
• Cole Van Assen: T-10 in Victories (5), 5th in Fewest Walks per 9 Innings (2.16), 8th in Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (3.36)
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PURDUE’S MOST HOME WINS |
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|
Year |
Home Record / Win % |
Home Games |
Overall Record |
% of Overall Wins at Home |
|
1982 |
22-6 / .786 |
28 |
36-23 |
61% |
|
1987 |
19-3-1 / .813 |
23 |
36-24-1 |
53% |
|
1990 |
19-14-1 / .574 |
34 |
27-30-1 |
70% |
|
2008 |
18-5 / .783 |
23 |
32-26 |
56% |
|
1997 |
18-5 / .783 |
23 |
30-25 |
60% |
|
1988 |
18-14 / .563 |
32 |
26-34 |
69% |
|
1986 |
17-8 / .680 |
25 |
37-27 |
46% |
|
1981 |
17-7 / .708 |
24 |
30-30-1 |
57% |
|
1992 |
17-11 / .607 |
28 |
30-24 |
57% |
|
1991 |
17-7 / .708 |
24 |
35-21 |
49% |
|
2024 |
16-13 / .552 |
29 |
33-24 |
48% |
|
On Deck… |
|
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2026 |
14-6 / .667 |
20 (as of April 30) |
29-15 (as of April 30) |
48% |
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PURDUE’S FASTEST TEAMS TO 30 WINS (By Date on the Calendar) |
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|
Year |
Date of 30th Win |
Record After 30th |
Final Record |
Final Win Pct |
|
2012 |
April 20 |
15-9 |
45-14 |
.763 |
|
1986 |
April 23 |
7-8 |
37-27 |
.578 |
|
2000 |
April 26 |
5-9 |
35-23 |
.603 |
|
1987 |
April 29 |
7-9 |
36-24-1 |
.598 |
|
1989 |
April 29 |
4-8 |
34-25 |
.576 |
|
1985 |
April 30 |
3-5 |
33-25 |
.569 |
|
2026 |
29-15 on April 30 |
TBD |
TBD |
TBD |
|
2024 |
May 1 |
3-9 |
33-24 |
.579 |
|
2011 |
May 1 |
7-7 |
37-20 |
.649 |
|
1993 |
May 2 |
6-6 |
36-22 |
.621 |
|
1991 |
May 5 |
5-5 |
35-21 |
.625 |
|
2025 |
May 10 |
1-3 |
31-23 |
.574 |
|
2018 |
May 12 |
8-4 |
38-21 |
.644 |
|
2001 |
May 12 |
2-3 |
32-24 |
.571 |
|
1997 |
May 12 |
0-2 |
30-25 |
.545 |
|
1992 |
May 12 |
Last Game of Season |
30-24 |
.556 |
|
1982 |
May 12 |
6-2 |
36-23 |
.610 |
3 CONSECUTIVE 30-WIN SEASONS IN TEAM HISTORY
• 2010-2012 – Combined Record: 115-58 (.665)
• 1985-1987 – Combined Record: 106-76-1 (.582)
• 1991-1993 – Combined Record: 101-67 (.601)
• On Deck: 2024-2026 – Combined Record: 93-62 (.600)
PURDUE’S MOST WINS IN A MONTH THIS DECADE
• April 2024: 12 (12-3)
• March 2026: 12 (12-6)
• March 2025: 11 (11-7)
• March 2024: 11 (11-10)
• April 2026: 10 (10-6)
• March 2022: 10 (10-2)
• April 2023: 10 (10-9)
PURDUE’S OPEN WEEKENDS IN BIG TEN PLAY
Non-conference series during Big Ten season since league expanded before 2011-12 school year
• 2025: Swept a 2-game set vs. UIC (March 14-15)
• 2024: Lost 2 of 3 vs. East Tennessee State (April 19-21)
• 2023: Won 2 of 3 vs. South Dakota State (May 5-7)
• 2022: Lost all 3 games vs. Belmont (April 22-24)
• 2021: N/A – conference-only season featured 3-team pod weekends
• 2020: Was scheduled to play home series vs. Samford (April 17-19)
• 2019: Won 2 of 3 vs. Southeast Missouri State (April 26-28)
• 2018: Split a doubleheader vs. Lipscomb (March 23)
• 2017: Swept a 2-game set vs. Saint Louis (April 28-29)
• 2016: Won 3 of 4 vs Cal State Northridge (May 19-22)
• 2015: Lost all 3 games of a split-site series with Butler (March 28-29)
• 2014: Lost 2 of 3 at Southern Illinois (March 21-23)
• 2013: Swept a 3-get set vs. Southern Illinois (May 3-5)
• 2012: Lost 2 of 3 at #11 UCLA (May 5-6)