April 9, 2012  

Midterm Grades… Not Quite Satisfied

With as quickly as the season started, this weekend marked the midway point for the Dreamteam of Purdue University. A midweek match up against the Ravens of Anderson College saw us grace the uptight confines of Victory Field and a weekend matchup with Northwestern University would bring with it midterm grades.

Playing for a school such as Purdue brings the opportunity to play in some of the greatest parks baseball has to offer. The spring training grounds of the Blue Jays plays host to the Big Ten/Big East Challenge; Cleveland Triple-A affiliate in Huntington Park hosts the Big Ten Tournament; and home of the Minnesota Twins in Target Field hosts the Golden Gophers of Minnesota on occasion. This week saw Purdue’s presence in Indianapolis as we squared off against the Ravens of Anderson College. Although NCAA Division III teams are not necessarily the games you circle on your schedule, these types of games offer the opportunity for many players to get work in. What work that could be accomplished before the game was a completely different story. Both teams were held in the stadium stands until the clock literally showed 4:50 pm on the scoreboard (only an hour and ten minutes before first pitch). Once we were allowed on the field, we were quickly confined to the warning tracks, leaving us to wonder if such “privileges” were worthwhile. A 15-minute batting practice in the indoor cages did nothing to make the situation any better. Some wondered if we had stumbled into the Smithsonian of baseball fields. The Indianapolis Indians’ motto, “Baseball up close” should be replaced with “Look but don’t touch”. The Boilers refused to let this adversity affect their play as they hopped on the Anderson Ace for three runs in the first, more than enough for the pitching staff to handle. Six different pitchers saw action in the 6-1 victory as they held the Ravens to only one hit, a preview to what was in store for the Easter weekend series.

We traveled to Evanston, Illinois, home of “Chicago’s Big Ten Team”, to face the Wildcats for a three-game series. “The Pack” notched a three-run first for the second time in as many games, giving Joe Haase more comfort than Charmin Ultra Soft. Haase channeled his inner Lance “just give me the Cy Young now” Breedlove by going all nine, scattering two hits and throwing a Wayne Gretzky 99 pitches in the 7-0 Boilermaker victory.

Saturday saw a series-high 623 fans show up to Rocky Miller Park to watch Breedlove out-duel the Big Ten strikeout leader. Lance turned in yet another stellar performance as he allowed only one run on five hits in seven innings, earning his third consecutive B1G victory in a 3-1 final.

Sunday brought a few firsts for us as freshman Conner Podkul earned his first B1G start and it proved to be the only time we trailed all week, albeit a mere half inning. We avenged the two previous Sunday losses by sweeping Northwestern, the first road B1G sweep since 2001, by an 8-4 tally, allowing us to enjoy the based-on-a-true-story 1993 film, “Rookie of the Year” on the short journey home.

As midterm grades are in, things are looking acceptable; but only as Dreamteams know, there is no rest until grades are final… or until Cal Eldred’s “Top 5 Players” are all Boilermakers. Just as former Boilermaker and current Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Josh Lindbloom (who dealt this week himself) tweeted, “…big things are expected for the #Dreamteam” (right). This season’s struggles are even garnishing national recognition as the Big Ten Network featured a short special as a part of their weekly “Diamond Report” which can be seen here. Check it out.

Thanks for Reading,

David Miller and Cal Gunter

(photos courtesy of Purdue Media Relations Office)