For 1st time post-brawl, baseball meets Purdue

The last time IU played Purdue, a brawl ensued.

It was the Big Ten championship game in 2012, and it all started with a violent ninth inning slide into then shortstop Michael Basil who was covering third base after a wild throw went into the outfield. Basil took exception, and the dugouts cleared.

After the dust settled, Purdue came away with a 6-5 win.

This weekend, the Boilermakers (12-29, 5-10) travel to Bloomington where they will face the No. 15 Hoosiers (29-12, 13-2) in a three-game series at Bart Kaufman Field.

The players from that IU team haven’t forgotten about what happened last time.

“There’s only a few guys on the team now that were actually there for the championship game, I think maybe half the team,” junior pitcher Luke Harrison said. “I think now we have the ability to come out and put them in their place a little bit and give it to them.”

IU Coach Tracy Smith said he doesn’t believe this weekend is bigger than any other.

“It’s not big because it’s Purdue,” Smith said. “I just do not get caught up in all that garbage. It’s big because we’re competing for a conference championship, we’re competing for a national seed, and I don’t care if it was Purdue or anyone else coming in here, we want to take care of business at home.”

Smith said he expects large crowds this weekend and wants to give the fans a worthy performance on the field. He has maintained his goal of getting a national seed and with a strong finish, experts Kendall Rogers of perfectgame.org and Aaron Fitt of baseballamerica.com, say that is very possible.

“I don’t give anyone that much credit,” Smith said. “It’s irrelevant to me because we play 56 games. If you get all emotional and jacked up for somebody, then you set yourself up to fail.”

IU is coming off a 16-1 victory against Smith’s alma mater, Miami Ohio, where they put up the most runs and hits (20) that they have had all year.

“With what happened last time I think it makes it even more exciting,” junior outfielder Will Nolden said. “We want to go out there and show them who the best team in Indiana is.”

The Hoosiers will start senior Joey DeNato on the mound on Friday. He is 9-1 with a 2.26 ERA on the season. He will be followed Saturday by sophomore Christian Morris who is 2-3 with a 2.47 ERA. Senior Brian Korte, who is 1-0 with a 2.49 ERA, will take the hill Sunday.

“I’d be lying to you if I said the guys aren’t going to remember how that all went down,” Smith said. “I don’t anticipate a mental let down from our team.”