GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Purdue (35-15, 18-9 Big Ten) at Iowa (29-21, 12-15 Big Ten)
May 14-16 / Stream B1G+
Series Opener: Friday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Middle Game: Saturday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Series Finale: Sunday, May 16 at 2 p.m. ET
Principal Park / Des Moines, Iowa
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Thursday: Cole Van Assen (Jr, RHP) vs. Iowa’s Maddux Frese (Jr, RHP)
Friday: Zach Erdman (Sr, LHP) vs. Iowa’s Tyler Guerin (So, RHP)
Saturday: Austin Klug (Sr, RHP) vs. TBA for Iowa
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Iowa leads 106-68-1
All-Time in the State of Iowa: Iowa leads 54-26
Purdue Under Greg Goff vs. Iowa: Iowa leads 7-3 (since 2020)
Last Series: Iowa won 2 of 3 (March 2024 in West Lafayette)
Last Series in the State of Iowa: Iowa won 2 of 3 (May 2022 in Iowa City)
Purdue’s Last Series Win vs Iowa: Swept a 3-game set (May 2011 in West Lafayette)
Purdue’s Last Series Win in the State of Iowa: Won 2 of 3 (April 2009 in Iowa City)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Baseball closes out the regular season on the road for the first time since 2017, playing its third weekend of the year at a Triple-A ballpark as the Boilermakers take on Iowa at Principal Park in Des Moines.
First pitch at the home of the Iowa Cubs at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday, 2 p.m. ET on Saturday.
The Hawkeyes began playing a weekend series in Des Moines in 2024, traveling to the state capital for their open weekend in Big Ten play each of the last two years. They hosted Florida International for the final weekend of the regular season in 2024 and Oregon State for the second weekend of May last year (posting a combined 2-3-1 record). Iowa’s open weekend in league play this season was the first weekend of March, setting the stage for the Boilermakers to be the opponent for the Des Moines series.
With Iowa opting to move their home games and batting last as the designated home team, it still counts as true road series for Purdue in the statical formulas like the RPI.
The Boilermakers are 4-2 in Triple-A stadiums this season and 18-4 since 2022, with the majority of those games being played at Constellation Field in suburban Houston. Purdue won two of three vs. Portland at Constellation Field and also posted a pair of victories at Triple-A Dell Diamond the following weekend at the Round Rock Classic.
PURDUE AT PROFESSIONAL STADIUMS (Since 2020)
• Constellation Field (Triple-A; Sugar Land, Texas): 16-3
…Opened the season there every year since 2022
• Wrigley Field (MLB; Chicago): 1-0
…Defeated Northwestern in April 2024
• Dell Diamond (Triple-A; Round Rock, Texas): 3-4
…Opened the 2021 season there vs. Nebraska (lost 3 of 4); Won 2 of 3 at 2026 Round Rock Classic
• U.S. Bank Stadium (NFL; Minneapolis): 2-4
…Won 2 of 3 vs Minnesota in March 2025; lost all 3 at Minnesota’s Tournament in February 2020
• Fluor Field (High-A; Greenville, S.C.): 0-4
…Lost all 4 vs Michigan in March 2021
Principal Park also sets up similar to Alexander Field – headlined by the MiLB stadium featuring a natural playing surface and dimensions (335 to LF/RF, 400 to CF) that are similar to Alexander (340 to LF, 408 to CF, 330 to RF). Iowa’s Duane Banks Field, where renovations are already underway with Iowa’s home schedule complete, features a full artificial turf surface and smaller dimensions (329 to LF/RF, 395 to CF).
Headlined by its 20-6 mark at home this season, Purdue is 26-12 on fields that feature a full natural surface and 9-3 on artificial turf. The Boilermakers have not played on artificial turf since sweeping a series at Northwestern the weekend of April 10-12. With the Big Ten Tournament up next at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha – which also features a full natural surface – and many of the projected NCAA Regional host teams also playing on grass and dirt fields, Purdue may not play on artificial turf again until next season.
A series win in Des Moines is pivotal for Purdue’s hopes for an NCAA Regional bid. The Boilermakers are firmly on the bubble entering the final weekend of the regular season, which is traditionally played with a Thursday-Friday-Saturday schedule so teams can line up their pitching for conference tournaments next week.
Purdue also remains in the hunt for a top-four seed at the Big Ten Tournament and with it a bye into the single-elimination quarterfinals that begin Friday, May 22. With USC and Oregon playing each other this weekend in Eugene, a sweep in Des Moines guarantees the Boilers of a top-four seed in Omaha. A series win vs. Iowa coupled with two losses by Oregon and one loss by Michigan (vs. Ohio State) would also put Purdue in the top four.
The Boilermakers need to finish ahead of both USC and Oregon in the standings since they would lose head-to-head tiebreakers to both teams. When teams have not played each other this season, the league has gone back to records vs the top eight teams in the final standings to break ties (formerly it was records vs. common opponents). That same protocol is primarily used to break multi-team ties when not all the teams have played each other.
Teams seeded fifth through 12th in the Big Ten Tournament field play in a double-elimination bracket from Tuesday through Thursday in Omaha. The four teams that win two games advance to the single-elimination weekend bracket and then must face the top four seeds in those teams’ first games of the week. Teams seeded five through 12 will have to win five games to win the tournament while the top four seeds need to win just three.
FINAL WEEKEND OF BIG TEN PLAY (Thursday-Saturday)
• Purdue* (18-9) at Iowa* (12-15) – in Des Moines
• USC* (19-8) at Oregon* (18-9)
• Ohio State* (15-12) at Michigan* (17-10)
• Nebraska* (20-7) at Minnesota (11-16)
• UCLA* (26-1) at Washington (11-16)
• Illinois* (13-14) at Indiana (7-20)
• Rutgers (11-16) at Northwestern (7-20)
• Penn State (8-19) at Maryland (7-20)
• Illinois St. at Michigan St. (11-19) – Non-Conference
* – Clinched a Big Ten Tournament berth
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POTENTIAL FINAL BIG TEN RECORDS |
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|
Team (Record) |
Final Opponent |
3-0 Weekend |
2-1 Weekend |
1-2 Weekend |
0-3 Weekend |
|
Nebraska (20-7) |
at Minnesota |
23-7 (.767) |
22-8 (.733) |
21-9 (.700) |
20-10 (.667) |
|
USC (19-8) |
at Oregon |
22-8 (.733) |
21-9 (.700) |
20-10 (.667) |
19-11 (.633) |
|
Oregon (18-9) |
USC |
21-9 (.700) |
20-10 (.667) |
19-11 (.633) |
18-12 (.600) |
|
Purdue (18-9) |
at Iowa |
21-9 (.700) |
20-10 (.667) |
19-11 (.633) |
18-12 (.600) |
|
Michigan (17-10) |
Ohio St. |
20-10 (.667) |
19-11 (.633) |
18-12 (.600) |
17-13 (.567) |
|
Ohio St. (15-12) |
at Michigan |
18-12 (.600) |
17-13 (.567) |
16-14 (.533) |
15-15 (.500) |
|
Potential Head-to-Head Tiebreakers Already Determined: Nebraska over USC & Michigan, USC over Purdue, Oregon over Nebraska & Purdue, Purdue over Ohio State, Michigan over Oregon |
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From 2010 to 2014, Purdue closed out the regular season vs. Iowa every year. Three of those five series (2010, 2011, 2013) resulted in sweeps. Iowa City has also become one of Purdue’s least-visited Big Ten locales since the 2012 Big Ten championship clinched the outright conference title there on Thursday of the final week of the regular season. Since 2013, the Boilermakers have only played six games in Iowa City. That’s tied with Lincoln – where Purdue has not played since 2019 – for the team’s fewest games at any Big Ten campus during that span (excluding the West Coast teams).
While Purdue does not have any Iowa natives on this year’s roster, four seniors and key contributors – Eli Anderson (North Iowa Area), Austin Klug (North Iowa Area), CJ Richmond (Iowa Western) and Brandon Rogers (Iowa Western) – all played at least one season of junior college ball in the state. Next week, Omaha native Avery Moore returns to his hometown for the Big Ten Tournament. Moore also played junior college ball in the state of Nebraska.
With Purdue helping to officially end Indiana’s streak of 13 consecutive Big Ten Tournament berths with the dramatic sweep at Alexander Field last weekend, Iowa now has the league’s second longest active streak. The Hawkeyes have clinched their 11th consecutive bid dating back to 2014. Michigan will be making its 12th consecutive tournament appearance this season.
The common Big Ten opponents for Purdue and Iowa this season includes Michigan State, USC, Maryland, Indiana and Illinois. The Boilermakers went 9-6 against those teams while the Hawkeyes were 8-7. Purdue managed to win two of three at MSU while Iowa dropped two of three in East Lansing to open its league schedule. Nine of the Hawkeyes’ 15 Big Ten losses have come in sweeps vs. the top three teams in the standings entering the week – UCLA, Nebraska, USC.
ACTIVE STREAKS
• Aaron Manias: 11-game on-base; 6-game hit in Big Ten play
• Sam Flores: 8-game on-base
• Westin Boyle: 7-game hit
• Jackson Bessette: 7-game hit
• Avery Moore: 6-game hit
BOILERMAKERS AMONG THE TOP 10 IN THE BIG TEN
• Trevor Kester-Johnson: T-1st in Appearances (30); Also 3rd Nationally
• Eli Anderson: 1st in Steals (22)
• Cole Van Assen: 3rd in Fewest Walks per 9 Innings (1.94), T-6th in Victories (6), T-7th in Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (3.73)
• Aaron Manias: 4th in OBP (.473), 4th in HBP (19)
• Jake Kramer: 4th in Saves (9), T-5th in Appearances (26)
• Austin Klug: T-6th in Victories (6)
• Zach Erdman: 7th in Fewest Walks per 9 Innings (2.20), T-7th in Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (3.73)
• Sam Flores: 9th in RBI (52)
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MOST WINS IN TEAM HISTORY |
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|
Year |
Overall Record |
Big Ten Record & Finish |
Home Record |
Notables |
|
2012 |
44-15 (.763) |
17-7 (1st) |
13-3 |
Big Ten Tournament champ, NCAA Regional host (in Gary), 7 MLB Draft picks, started season 14-1, 9-0 in midweek play, final season at Lambert Field |
|
2018 |
38-21 (.644) |
17-6 (2nd) |
15-5 |
Big Ten Tournament finalist, NCAA Regional 2-Seed, 13-game win streaks (home & overall) |
|
2011 |
37-20 (.649) |
14-10 (3rd) |
14-4 |
10 winning weekends, won 4 straight Big Ten series, swept Indiana & Iowa at home |
|
1986 |
37-27 (.578) |
9-7 (2nd, East Division) |
17-8 |
Team record for wins that stood until 2012, 2nd team to qualify for Big Ten Tournament |
|
1987 |
36-24-1 (.608) |
10-6 (2nd, East Division) |
19-3-1 |
Big Ten Tournament finalist, NCAA Regional qualifier, 3 MLB Draft picks, swept 4-game series vs OSU & MSU at home |
|
1993 |
36-22 (.621) |
16-12 (3rd) |
14-9 |
Started season 16-2, 13-game win streak in March, swept 4-game series at Michigan |
|
1982 |
36-23 (.610) |
6-10 (3rd, East Division) |
22-6 |
Team record for home wins that still stands |
|
2026 |
35-15 (.700) |
18-9 (T-4th as of May 13) |
20-6 |
11 winning weekends, won 6 straight Big Ten series, won 20 games at home for 2nd time in team history, swept 5 weekend series |
UNTIL THIS SEASON, THE LAST TIME PURDUE…
• Won 20 games at home: 1982
• Won a multi-game home series/swept a series vs. Ohio State: April 1987
• Swept a series vs. Indiana: April 2011
• Won 5 straight series at home: 2011-12
• Won 6 straight Big Ten series: 2012
• Posted 11 winning weekends: 2012
• Won consecutive games in its last at-bat at home (May 8-9 vs IU): April 2014
• Won a traditional 3-game series/home series vs. Illinois: April 2017
• Won 35 games overall: 2018
• Swept 3 straight series sweeps at home: April-May 2018
• Swept a homestand of at least 7 games: April-May 2018
• Posted 5 weekend series sweeps: 2018
• Won a series at Maryland: April 2018
• Won a game vs. a top-15 ranked opponent (Feb. 22 vs #11 Oregon St.): April 2018 at #10 Indiana
• Won 4 times in walk-off fashion: 2022
• Won consecutive games in its last at-bat (May 8-9 vs IU): April 2024