Michigan to Head to Purdue for Big Ten Series This Weekend

» Michigan will travel to Purdue this weekend (April 29-May 1) before returning home to kick off a six-game home stand.
» Michigan has won eight of its last nine weekend games.

This Week
Friday, April 29 -- at Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.), 6 p.m.
TV: B1G+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday, April 30 -- at Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.), 6 p.m.
TV: B1G+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, May 1 -- at Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.), 2 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network | Live Stats | Live Video

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team (22-6, 8-4) returns to action this weekend with a three-game Big Ten series at Purdue. The teams play a pair of evening games on Friday (April 29) and Saturday (April 30) before a Sunday matinee (May 1). Friday and Saturday's games will be streamed live on B1G+, with Sunday's game airing live on Big Ten Network.

The Week That Was

• Michigan took two out of three games from Ohio State last weekend to remain in the chase for a Big Ten title.

• The Wolverines came back from multiple deficits Friday night as Jimmy Obertop clubbed a two-run, two-out homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings where the Wolverines won in the 10th inning.

• On Saturday, Joe Stewart put on a hitting display for the ages as the graduate student hit three home runs, including grand slams in consecutive innings, as part of a four-hit, 11-RBI day. The outburst is reported to have set single game records for Big Ten play.

• The Wolverines fell short of a weekend sweep as Ohio State erased a 5-3 deficit on Sunday with three runs in the ninth inning and then received a game-saving diving catch in the outfield in the bottom of the ninth.

• Sophomore Chase Allen made his second consecutive weekend start and pitched well against Ohio State, registering a career-high seven strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work in Sunday's game.

Scouting Purdue

• The Boilermakers started the season red hot with an 18-1 record, but have come back down from the stratosphere and enter their Tuesday game against Valparaiso with a 22-13 record and the losers of five straight.

• Purdue is led by Evan Albrecht's lofty .392 batting average. He has stolen 16 of 17 attempts on the bases, which ranks him just third on the team for a Boilermaker squad that ranks among the national leaders in steals with 90 out of 101 attempts. Curtis Washington (.292 avg.) is a perfect 24-for-24 on the base path and Mike Bolton, Jr. (.250 avg.) is 22 of 26 while leading the team in both walks (30) and strikeouts (49). CJ Valdez (.360 avg.) and Cam Thompson (.304 avg., 10 HR) are also players to watch offensively.

• Purdue ace Jackson Smeltz (6-1, 2.83 ERA) will toe the rubber on Friday night and has struck out 79 batters in just 57.1 innings this year. Troy Wansing (2-3, 4.48 ERA) is also a power arm with 44 Ks in 35.1 innings and Wyatt Wendell (3-2, 5.18) has started eighth games so far. Five different players have registered at least one save this season in a bullpen by committee that is led by Eric Hildebrand's (2-1, 4.76 ERA) 18 appearances.