GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Purdue (24-16, 6-12 Big Ten) at Illinois (23-15, 10-8 Big Ten)
Friday, April 25 to Sunday, April 27 / Stream B1G+
Series Opener: Friday, April 25 at 7 p.m. ET
Middle Game: Saturday, April 26 at 4 p.m. ET
Series Finale: Sunday, April 27 at 2 p.m. ET
Illinois Field / Champaign, Illinois
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: Carter Doorn (Sr, RHP) vs. ILL's Tyler Schmitt (Jr, RHP)
Saturday: Cole Van Assen (So, RHP) vs. ILL's Regan Hall (So, LHP)
Sunday: TBA for Both Teams
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Illinois leads 171-87-1
All-Time in Champaign: Illinois leads 98-41
Purdue Under Greg Goff vs. Illinois: Illinois leads 9-2 (since 2020)
2024: Illinois swept a 3-game set in West Lafayette (May 16-18)
Last Series in Champaign: Illinois swept a 3-game set (March 2022)
Purdue's Last Series Win vs. Illinois: Swept a 3-game set (April 2017 in West Lafayette)
Purdue's Last Victorious Weekend in Champaign: Swept a 4-game Pod vs. MSU & ILL (April 2021)
Purdue's Last Series Win at Illinois: Won 2 of 3 (May 2010)
First Meeting: Illinois 14, Purdue 5 (May 1893 in West Lafayette)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Baseball's shortest trip of the Big Ten season brings the Boilermakers westbound across the state line to Champaign for a series at Illinois as the back half of their consecutive road weekends.
First pitch at Illinois Field is set for (all ET) 7 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
With Northwestern and UIC both coming to Alexander Field this season, this weekend marks the Boilermakers' only trek into the Land of Lincoln. Purdue has seven Illinois natives on its travel roster this weekend (albeit all hailing from the Chicagoland area): Amir Gray (South Holland), Nick Kolze (Romeoville), Breck Nowik (Lake Forest), Brandon Rogers (Chicago), Matthew Tarr (North Aurora), Michael Vallone (Lake Forest) and Cole Van Assen (Tinley Park).
The Fighting Illini are the defending Big Ten champions. They're 12-2 at home this season and 32-5 in Champaign the last two years. Illinois has gone 8-4 in Big Ten play since starting league play 2-4 while losing two of three vs. Michigan (in Florida) and at Northwestern.
The Purdue-Illinois series dates back to 1893 and features over 250 all-time meetings. The border battle has seen its last six three-game weekend series, and eight of the last nine since 2012, end in sweeps. The Boilermakers also won all four of their games in Champaign in April 2021 as part of a three-team pod that featured Michigan State as well.
To stay connected in the Big Ten Tournament chase with four weekends to go, Purdue needs to avoid the same fate that befell Maryland in a Champaign two weekends ago. The Boilermakers won Sunday at Penn State to stave off a third sweep this season. Illinois also salvaged the series finale Sunday at Washington. Purdue has potential head-to-head tiebreakers with Minnesota and Rutgers – two teams also in the thick of the tournament chase – and still hosts two other teams – Northwestern and Nebraska – it will be battling for a spot among the expanded 12-team tournament field in Omaha.
WEEKEND #8 OF BIG TEN PLAY
• Purdue (6-12) at Illinois (10-8)
• Indiana (12-9) at Iowa (17-4)
• USC (11-7) at Minnesota (7-11)
• Penn State (12-9) at UCLA (13-5)
• Nebraska (7-11) at Maryland (5-13)
• Washington (11-7) at Northwestern (8-10)
• Michigan State (9-9) at Michigan (8-10)
• Rutgers (7-11) at Ohio State (2-16)
• Oregon State at Oregon (27-12) – Non-Conference
Illinois and Purdue scored a combined 50 runs at Alexander Field last year during the final weekend of the regular season. Illinois Field is traditionally thought of as a hitter-friendly ballpark, mostly due to the wind frequently blowing out. The teams combined for 49 runs in their 2022 series in Champaign. Both series featured one game in which both teams posted a double-figure total in the run column.
Albert Choi remains two stolen bases shy of 100 for his collegiate career. Logan Sutter has been swinging a hot bat for the Boilermakers, slashing .435/.480/1.000 with four doubles, three home runs and nine RBI in the last five games. Camden Gasser has become an on-base demon again since taking over for the injured Lukas Cook at shortstop, going 5-for-11 with a .684 OBP and nine runs scored over the last five games.
Illinois lost Big Ten Player of the Year Camden Janik and its Friday starter Jack Crowder, but 2024 lineup regulars Vytas Valincius, Drake Westcott, Coltin Quagliano, Jacob Schroeder and Cameron Chee-Aloy are all still in the mix. Collin Jennings (.354/.458/.737, 18 XBH, 9 HR, 39 RBI) and Jack Zebig (.329/.436/.550, 17 XBH, 7 HR, 39 RBI) headline the Illini's breakout performers at the plate – Jennings as a sophomore and Zebig as a transfer from D-II Maryville University. Valincius (.366/.431/.579, 13 2B, 49 RBI) has also enjoyed a year-two improvement similar to Sutter.
Tuesday's game against Austin Peay marked the beginning of a 16-game stretch in which Purdue is scheduled to play all its games within 120 miles of campus. After this weekend, the Boilermakers play their final 12 regular-season games in the state of Indiana.
LOGAN SUTTER THIS SEASON…
• Leads the Big Ten & Ranks 4th Nationally with 19 Doubles
• Is on the Verge of Becoming the First Boilermaker with 20 Doubles Since 2012
• Is 2 Doubles Shy of Tying the Purdue Single-Season Record (21)
• Has Homered in 8 of the 10 Weekends, including the First 7 (all but Washington & Rutgers)
• Had a Program-Record 6-Hit Game on Feb. 22, Finishing the Win with 14 Total Bases (2 Singles, 2 Doubles, 2 HR)
• Fastest Boilermaker to Reach 20, 30, 40 RBI & 10 Doubles
• 2nd-Fastest Boilermaker to Reach 50 RBI (April 22)
• 5th-Fastest Boilermaker to Reach 10 Home Runs (April 18)
• 10th Boilermaker Since 2001 to Record Multiple Multi-HR Games in a Season
All Fastest Rankings are based on since 2001
ACTIVE STREAKS OF NOTE
• Logan Sutter: 10-game on-base, 8-game run scored, 5 consecutive games with an extra-base hit
• CJ Richmond – 7-game on-base
• Camden Gasser – 5-game on-base
• Breck Nowik – 5-game on-base
Purdue (24-16, 6-12 Big Ten) at Illinois (23-15, 10-8 Big Ten)
Friday, April 25 to Sunday, April 27 / Stream B1G+
Series Opener: Friday, April 25 at 7 p.m. ET
Middle Game: Saturday, April 26 at 4 p.m. ET
Series Finale: Sunday, April 27 at 2 p.m. ET
Illinois Field / Champaign, Illinois
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: Carter Doorn (Sr, RHP) vs. ILL's Tyler Schmitt (Jr, RHP)
Saturday: Cole Van Assen (So, RHP) vs. ILL's Regan Hall (So, LHP)
Sunday: TBA for Both Teams
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Illinois leads 171-87-1
All-Time in Champaign: Illinois leads 98-41
Purdue Under Greg Goff vs. Illinois: Illinois leads 9-2 (since 2020)
2024: Illinois swept a 3-game set in West Lafayette (May 16-18)
Last Series in Champaign: Illinois swept a 3-game set (March 2022)
Purdue's Last Series Win vs. Illinois: Swept a 3-game set (April 2017 in West Lafayette)
Purdue's Last Victorious Weekend in Champaign: Swept a 4-game Pod vs. MSU & ILL (April 2021)
Purdue's Last Series Win at Illinois: Won 2 of 3 (May 2010)
First Meeting: Illinois 14, Purdue 5 (May 1893 in West Lafayette)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Baseball's shortest trip of the Big Ten season brings the Boilermakers westbound across the state line to Champaign for a series at Illinois as the back half of their consecutive road weekends.
First pitch at Illinois Field is set for (all ET) 7 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
With Northwestern and UIC both coming to Alexander Field this season, this weekend marks the Boilermakers' only trek into the Land of Lincoln. Purdue has seven Illinois natives on its travel roster this weekend (albeit all hailing from the Chicagoland area): Amir Gray (South Holland), Nick Kolze (Romeoville), Breck Nowik (Lake Forest), Brandon Rogers (Chicago), Matthew Tarr (North Aurora), Michael Vallone (Lake Forest) and Cole Van Assen (Tinley Park).
The Fighting Illini are the defending Big Ten champions. They're 12-2 at home this season and 32-5 in Champaign the last two years. Illinois has gone 8-4 in Big Ten play since starting league play 2-4 while losing two of three vs. Michigan (in Florida) and at Northwestern.
The Purdue-Illinois series dates back to 1893 and features over 250 all-time meetings. The border battle has seen its last six three-game weekend series, and eight of the last nine since 2012, end in sweeps. The Boilermakers also won all four of their games in Champaign in April 2021 as part of a three-team pod that featured Michigan State as well.
To stay connected in the Big Ten Tournament chase with four weekends to go, Purdue needs to avoid the same fate that befell Maryland in a Champaign two weekends ago. The Boilermakers won Sunday at Penn State to stave off a third sweep this season. Illinois also salvaged the series finale Sunday at Washington. Purdue has potential head-to-head tiebreakers with Minnesota and Rutgers – two teams also in the thick of the tournament chase – and still hosts two other teams – Northwestern and Nebraska – it will be battling for a spot among the expanded 12-team tournament field in Omaha.
WEEKEND #8 OF BIG TEN PLAY
• Purdue (6-12) at Illinois (10-8)
• Indiana (12-9) at Iowa (17-4)
• USC (11-7) at Minnesota (7-11)
• Penn State (12-9) at UCLA (13-5)
• Nebraska (7-11) at Maryland (5-13)
• Washington (11-7) at Northwestern (8-10)
• Michigan State (9-9) at Michigan (8-10)
• Rutgers (7-11) at Ohio State (2-16)
• Oregon State at Oregon (27-12) – Non-Conference
Illinois and Purdue scored a combined 50 runs at Alexander Field last year during the final weekend of the regular season. Illinois Field is traditionally thought of as a hitter-friendly ballpark, mostly due to the wind frequently blowing out. The teams combined for 49 runs in their 2022 series in Champaign. Both series featured one game in which both teams posted a double-figure total in the run column.
Albert Choi remains two stolen bases shy of 100 for his collegiate career. Logan Sutter has been swinging a hot bat for the Boilermakers, slashing .435/.480/1.000 with four doubles, three home runs and nine RBI in the last five games. Camden Gasser has become an on-base demon again since taking over for the injured Lukas Cook at shortstop, going 5-for-11 with a .684 OBP and nine runs scored over the last five games.
Illinois lost Big Ten Player of the Year Camden Janik and its Friday starter Jack Crowder, but 2024 lineup regulars Vytas Valincius, Drake Westcott, Coltin Quagliano, Jacob Schroeder and Cameron Chee-Aloy are all still in the mix. Collin Jennings (.354/.458/.737, 18 XBH, 9 HR, 39 RBI) and Jack Zebig (.329/.436/.550, 17 XBH, 7 HR, 39 RBI) headline the Illini's breakout performers at the plate – Jennings as a sophomore and Zebig as a transfer from D-II Maryville University. Valincius (.366/.431/.579, 13 2B, 49 RBI) has also enjoyed a year-two improvement similar to Sutter.
Tuesday's game against Austin Peay marked the beginning of a 16-game stretch in which Purdue is scheduled to play all its games within 120 miles of campus. After this weekend, the Boilermakers play their final 12 regular-season games in the state of Indiana.
LOGAN SUTTER THIS SEASON…
• Leads the Big Ten & Ranks 4th Nationally with 19 Doubles
• Is on the Verge of Becoming the First Boilermaker with 20 Doubles Since 2012
• Is 2 Doubles Shy of Tying the Purdue Single-Season Record (21)
• Has Homered in 8 of the 10 Weekends, including the First 7 (all but Washington & Rutgers)
• Had a Program-Record 6-Hit Game on Feb. 22, Finishing the Win with 14 Total Bases (2 Singles, 2 Doubles, 2 HR)
• Fastest Boilermaker to Reach 20, 30, 40 RBI & 10 Doubles
• 2nd-Fastest Boilermaker to Reach 50 RBI (April 22)
• 5th-Fastest Boilermaker to Reach 10 Home Runs (April 18)
• 10th Boilermaker Since 2001 to Record Multiple Multi-HR Games in a Season
All Fastest Rankings are based on since 2001
ACTIVE STREAKS OF NOTE
• Logan Sutter: 10-game on-base, 8-game run scored, 5 consecutive games with an extra-base hit
• CJ Richmond – 7-game on-base
• Camden Gasser – 5-game on-base
• Breck Nowik – 5-game on-base
| .700 OBP FOR A WEEKEND (Since 2012) Minimum 10 Plate Appearances |
|||||||
| Season | Boilermaker | Opponent | OBP | Plate App | Hits | Walks | HBP |
| 2025 | Camden Gasser | at Penn State | .700 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | Lukas Cook | UCLA | .733 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | Keenan Spence | at Michigan | .714 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024 | Camden Gasser | at N'western | .714 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 2024 | Camden Gasser | ETSU | .800 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 2024 | Mike Bolton Jr. | Michigan St. | .786 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 2024 | Keenan Taylor | at Ohio St. | .700 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 2024 | Mike Bolton Jr. | UAlbany | .722 | 18 | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| 2023 | Evan Albrecht | vs Akron | .750 | 15 | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| 2022 | CJ Valdez | vs Longwood | .769 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 2021 | Ryan Howe | at Minnesota | .778 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| 2021 | Tyler Powers | at Minnesota | .909 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 2018 | Tyler Powers | at Penn St. | .700 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 | Harry Shipley | at Indiana | .818 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 2015 | Kyle Wood | at Oklahoma | .786 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 2015 | Harry Shipley | Butler | .727 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 2013 | Kyle Johnson | at Michigan | .714 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS WATCH (Early Look) | ||||
| Record | Team Benchmark | Held By | Current Boilermaker | Total (as of April 24) |
| Doubles | 21 | Klink (2003), Sickler (2001) | Logan Sutter | 19 |
| Appearances | 32 | Andy Loomis (2008) | Avery Cook | 21 |
| Hit By Pitch | 113 | 2024 Boilermakers | -- | 111 |
| FASTEST TO 50 RBI (Since 2001) | |||
| Year | Boilermaker | Date of 50th RBI | Season Total |
| 2024 | Luke Gaffney | April 19 | 64 |
| 2025 | Logan Sutter | April 22 | 51 (as of April 24) |
| 2024 | Connor Caskenette | April 27 | 69 |
| 2008 | Dan Black | May 10 | 70 |
| 2003 | Daniel Underwood | May 11 | 57 |
| 2012 | Cameron Perkins | May 12 | 61 |
| 2023 | Paul Toetz | May 12 | 53 |
| 2001 | Nate Sickler | May 12 | 54 |
| 2022 | Cam Thompson | May 13 | 56 |
| 2011 | Cameron Perkins | May 13 | 53 |
| REACHED 10 HOME RUNS BEFORE MAY 1 (Since 2001) | |||
| Year | Boilermaker | Date of 10th HR | Season Total |
| 2016 | Kyle Wood | April 8 | 12 |
| 2003 | Nick McIntyre | April 8 | 11 |
| 2022 | Cam Thompson | April 10 | 13 |
| 2009 | Dan Black | April 11 | 15 |
| 2025 | Logan Sutter | April 18 | 12 (as of April 24) |
| 2008 | Dan Black | April 19 | 18 |
| 2024 | Luke Gaffney | April 20 | 13 |
| 2018 | Jacson McGowan | April 21 | 13 |
| 2024 | Connor Caskenette | April 28 | 13 |
| MORE BOILERMAKERS TO HIT 10+ HOME RUNS (Since 2001): Keenan Spence: 13 (2024), Daniel Underwood: 12 (2003), Ryne White: 12 (2008), Jake Jarvis: 10 (2023), Paul Toetz: 10 (2023) | |||