2020 Purdue vs Indiana | Big Ten Baseball

Purdue Travels Cross-State To Indiana For Early Big Ten Matchup

Purdue Travels Cross-State To Indiana For Early Big Ten Matchup

Purdue heads to Indiana for an early Big Ten showdown in Bloomington, Ind., on Wednesday.

Mar 4, 2020 by Jessica Todd
Purdue Travels Cross-State To Indiana For Early Big Ten Matchup

Get ready for a Big Ten showdown, people.

Purdue is headed to Bloomington, Ind., to face off with the Hoosiers in what is sure to be a great ball game between two strong conference competitors.

Head coach Greg Goff has led the Boilermakers to a 6-4 start on the season in his first season at the helm — after two seasons as an assistant coach. He succeeds Mark Wasikowski after Wasikowski's move to Oregon.

Goff brings a down-to-business approach to this team and has been leading them toward a successful 2020 season. 

The players returning from 2019 include big hitter and centerfielder Skyler Hunter, who has eight RBI this season, and catcher Zac Fascia who’s brought in 11 runs himself. In addition to the strong returning presence back in the Purdue uniform, this year’s transfer class is pulling their own weight as well. 

Kyle LaPlante has put in time between shortstop and third, Mason Gavre has played in all but one game at first and the same goes for Miles Simington out in right field. Transfer Justin Walker Jr. has also joined this Boilermaker squad after two years in Indiana’s lineup. 

On the mound, Purdue has a pretty strong starting rotation headed by Cory Brooks who’s gone 2-1 this season. Their bullpen is led by Andrew Bohm and Bo Hofstra. Bohm, a former starter and now reliever, and Hofstra, with three saves under his belt, can come in to assist if needed against Indiana’s offense.  

Purdue’s strong start should be fairly evened out against conference opponent Indiana. 

Leading the Hoosiers in his second season as head coach is Jeff Mercer. In 2019, Mercer and his team won a Big Ten regular season title, made a postseason appearance, and he was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.

No Big Ten team had more player selected in the 2019 MLB Draft than Indiana's 10. Matt Gorski was drafted 57th overall, becoming the highest-drafted player from Indiana since World Series champ Kyle Schwarber.

Outfielders Grant Richardson and Elijah Dunham have provided a major offensive boon between the two of them this season, together accounting for more than half of the team’s total runs. Redshirt senior and transfer Jordan Fucci has been a constant at first base, along with Cole Barr across from him at the hot corner, and Jeremy Houston at short. 

Coach Mercer and his staff have kept the lineup fairly constant since opening day, and with their favorable results it seems that is likely to remain the same. 

Assistant coach Justin Parker has had a successful run with his pitching staff this season. Starters Tommy Sommer and Braydon Tucker with a bullpen including Connor Manous and Braden Scott have proven to be a tough force on the mound for their opponents.