April 23, 2012

Lemonade, Lemonade, Lemonade

The Boilermaker “Dream Team” received perhaps its greatest news of the year after their Sunday sweep of Illinois when Coach Schreiber let the team know they would be flying to Nebraska, eliminating the possible 13-hour bus ride from West Lafayette to Lincoln. We were finally rewarded with some positive travel news but would have to perform admirably on the field to prove it was worth it.

The week started with a mid-week bout against the Flames of the University of Illinois-Chicago under the beautiful night skyline of downtown Chicago. For those that have not been, Les Miller Field has one of the best backdrops in the country as the Willis Tower stands tall beyond the center field wall. Purdue would not allow the skyline and cold weather affect their winning ways as they managed to put up a four-spot in each of the first two innings, giving Serta comfort to the newly named “Firing Squad” pitching staff, as the Boilers used five pitchers in the 12-2 victory. A tough day of practice and a travel day was all that stood between the Boilers and the much-anticipated weekend series with the B1G’s newest member, Nebraska.

Upon arrival in Omaha’s airport on Thursday evening, we drove past TD Ameritrade Park, new home of the College World Series and pinnacle of the Dreamteam season. Those potential games would have to wait as the Huskers home in Haymarket Park currently stood in the way of our aspirations. We had been told of the crowds that would be expected while in Lincoln, but nothing can truly prepare a team for three consecutive days of upwards of 6,200 fans begging for every call. It was a scene that would remind new Husker head coach Darin Erstad of his days in Anaheim and the rally monkey they rode to a 2002 World Series. Although, as their highlight tape mentioned, they were in a “new conference” with the “same tradition”, the Dreamteam wasn’t about to be a welcoming mat. 

Friday was the first game on the B1G Network for us this year and it saw “The Pack” provide the power while the “Firing Squad” budged little to the Huskers efforts to take the lead. Led by Cameron “They Can’t Stop Me, They Can Only Hope to Contain Me” Perkins’ two blasts, “The Pack” jumped out to an early 5-0 lead with Barret “El Conquistador” Serrato adding to his two-out RBI total (now up to 20). The Cornhuskers shucked their way back to tie the game in the fourth, but after a leadoff single from Eric “held together by Elmers glue” Charles in the fifth, Perkins alerted NASA for his second liftoff of the day, putting the Boilermakers up for good as Blake “The Snake” Mascarello shut the door on the grain pin, retiring the 13 batters he faced in an 8-5 victory. Phil Humber who?

Saturday brought a season-high 6,257 passionate fans to Hawks Field on a picture-perfect baseball day. Unfortunately for us, the large number of fans seemed to bring out the best in the Cornhusker team, and Kevin “The Great Hambino” Plawecki’s batting practice power, as they took Game 2 of the series 8-3, setting up a winner-take-all Game 3 on Sunday. We proved to be determined to earn the series victory as for the third time in as many games we jumped out to a first inning lead and never looked back flipping the script on the Huskers in an 8-3 victory.

As we are three hours from home and four weekends away from the completion of the 2012 regular season, the Dreamteam is craving a B1G Championship… and the savory lemonades that were on full display this past weekend. “Lemonade… Lemonade… Lemonade… Whoo.” There are some burning questions still lingering from the weekend. “Can you expect every call to go your way in a series?” “How long can Mascarello resist a child’s call for an expired logo baseball?” “Will Mike Sudbury ever forget his own name?” and “Will Kevin Plawecki ever grow up?” Only time will tell.

Thanks for reading,

Cal Gunter and David Miller

(photos courtesy of Purdue Media Relations Office)