April 18, 2014
By Tom Schott
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue baseball coach Doug Schreiber earned his 450th career win when the Boilermakers defeated Butler 5-4 in 10 innings on Tuesday at Alexander Field.
Schreiber's lifetime record currently stands at 450-420. He became Purdue's winningest baseball coach in 2012, surpassing his coach, Dave Alexander.
Tuesday's walk-off victory - on an RBI single by junior shortstop Brandon Krieg - was the Boilermakers' first at Alexander Field, which opened in 2013, and their first since May 15, 2012, against Indiana State in the final game at Lambert Field.
Purdue (8-24, 3-6 Big Ten) plays host to Michigan (16-19-1, 6-6) for a three-game series this weekend. Game times are 6:30 p.m. today, 2 p.m. tomorrow and 1 p.m. Sunday.
Men's Tennis Making History
It has been a historic season for men's tennis. This week, the Boilermakers, under fifth-year head coach Pawel Gajdzik, earned the highest national ranking in school history at No. 28. The high-water mark came on the heels of a milestone victory, as Purdue beat No. 16 Penn State 6-1 last Friday, marking the highest-ranked opponent ever defeated by the Boilermakers. On Sunday, the Boilermakers came up just short against No. 1 Ohio State, dropping a 4-3 decision.
Purdue (15-4, 7-2) closes out the Big Ten regular season this weekend with road matches at Michigan State (9-13, 3-6) today and at No. 49 Michigan (12-11, 4-5) on Sunday. Purdue is tied for second place in the Big Ten standings with Illinois. The conference tournament runs April 24 to 27 in East Lansing, Mich.
Senior Aaron Dujovne was named Big Ten Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week after posting victories in all five of his matches - three singles and two doubles. Dujovne now has a 13-2 overall singles record and is 8-1 against Big Ten opponents. He is first Purdue men's tennis player to earn the Big Ten weekly award since 2003.
Softball Continues Conference Winning
The softball team continues to rack up Big Ten wins. After a three-game sweep at Penn State, the Boilermakers (22-20-1, 9-3) have taken two out of three each from Michigan State, Indiana and Ohio State to sit in third place in the conference standings, a half-game behind Minnesota. Purdue, which has won 13 of its last 17 games overall, dating to March 16, already has one more conference victory than it did all of last season. The school record for Big Ten wins is 14 by the 1997 squad.
This weekend, the Boilermakers play host to Illinois (18-18, 2-10), with games today at 4 p.m., tomorrow at 5 p.m. and Sunday at noon. The three-game series features myriad of promotional activities.
Kan Wins Again
Junior Aurora Kan earned her third Big Ten Women's Golfer of the Week honors after winning the Purdue Rainy Day Shootout on Saturday. She shot a five-over, 149 for 36 holes at the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.
Kan now has been the top finisher in three tournaments this season, also taking the Butler Fall Invitational title and sharing the Lady Puerto Rico Classic crown.
The Boilermakers return to action tomorrow at the Big Ten-loaded Lady Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.
Hammons to Return
Sophomore center A.J. Hammons announced Wednesday that he will return to the men's basketball program for the 2014-15 season, ending speculation that he will enter the NBA Draft. For his career, Hammons has scored 694 points and pulled down 434 rebounds, and his 163 blocked shots rank fifth on the Purdue career list and are the sixth-most nationally for a player through his sophomore season.
Also on Wednesday, head coach Matt Painter and his staff added to its 2013-14 recruiting class as P.J. Thompson signed his National Letter of Intent to join the Boilermakers for the 2014-15 season. Ranked as a three-star recruit nationally, Thompson, a 5-11 point guard from Indianapolis, had an outstanding senior season at Brebeuf Prep School. He averaged more than 24 points per game while shooting 68 percent from inside the three-point line and 39 percent from beyond it. He recently was honored as one of 13 players selected to the Indiana All-Star team.
Etcetera
The athletics department has selected six student-athletes to serve as interns in various areas this summer. The first-year internship program aims to provide student-athletes real-world experience working within a university athletics department and help them in their desired career paths ... Men's golf plays host to the Boilermaker Invitational tomorrow and Sunday ... No. 42 women's tennis (10-8, 6-3), which continues to be without two of its top players due to injury, wraps up the regular season with home matches against No. 67 Michigan State (17-6, 5-4) at noon tomorrow and No. 16 Michigan (17-3, 9-0) at noon Sunday. The Boilermakers are in a three-way tie for third place with Minnesota and Ohio State in the Big Ten standings. The conference tournament is April 24 to 27 in Evanston, Ill. ... The track and field teams will compete at the Kentucky Relays tomorrow. The Boilermakers currently have 10 marks that rank in the top 25 in the country for the 2014 outdoor season. The 2014-15 women's basketball non-conference schedule has been announced.