Scott Heelan is batting .340 in his first season at Northwestern.Scott Heelan is batting .340 in his first season at Northwestern.

Wildcats Look to Bust Boilermakers

April 4, 2013

 at Purdue
 Date  Friday, April 5 | 6:00 p.m. CT
 Location  Alexander Field  | West Lafayette, Ind.
 Series Notes Northwestern Notes Get Acrobat Reader | Purdue Notes Get Acrobat Reader
 Live Stats  GameTracker
 Watch Live  Big Ten Digital Network
 Social Media  @NUCatsBaseball   |  Facebook
 at Purdue
 Date  Saturday, April 6 | 1:00 p.m. CT
 Location  Alexander Field  | West Lafayette, Ind.
 Live Stats  GameTracker
 Watch Live  Big Ten Digital Network
 Social Media  @NUCatsBaseball   |  Facebook
 at Purdue
 Date  Sunday, April 7 | 12:00 p.m. CT
 Location  Alexander Field  | West Lafayette, Ind.
 Live Stats  GameTracker
 Watch Live  Big Ten Digital Network
 Social Media  @NUCatsBaseball   |  Facebook

EVANSTON, Ill. -- After picking up a pair of midweek victories at Rocky Miller Park, the Northwestern Wildcats will take to the road for the second weekend in a row as they venture to West Lafayette, Ind. to square off against the Purdue Boilermakers. The series marks NU's first trip to West Lafayette since 2010 and the first-ever for the Wildcats at brand new Alexander Field.

CROOKED NUMBERS
When Northwestern has scored this season, it has tended to do so in bunches. The Wildcats have posted 32 multi-run innings compared to 29 frames when they have scored a single run. Twice this season the 'Cats have scored eight runs in a single inning; first on March 16 in the fifth inning against Bucknell and again on April 2 against St. Francis when they scored eight times in the sixth.

BIG TEN'S BEST
As conference play continues, the Wildcats remain in the top half of the Big Ten in several key statistical categories. Offensively, Northwestern ranks third in the Big Ten in batting average (.295) and fourth in both slugging percentage (.379) and on-base percentage (.367). On the mound, the 'Cats rank fourth in ERA (3.03) and fifth in opposing batting average (.253) Northwestern's pitching staff leads the Big Ten with 8.0 strikeouts per game.

FARRELL FANS A DOZEN
In his first official start of the season, senior Luke Farrell struck out a career-high 12 Lipscomb Bisons in six innings of work during an 11-4 victory on Feb. 24. The right-hander caught half of his 12 victims looking and struck out five of six batters over his final two frames. The mark of 12 Ks is the second-highest output of any Big Ten pitcher this season and the most for a Wildcat hurler since J.A. Happ punched out 16 Iowa Hawkeyes in a seven-inning complete game on May 3, 2003. Farrell also fanned nine hitters in back-to-back starts against NDSU (March 15) and Iowa (March 23).

CLOSING COMMITTEE
Four different pitchers have combined to earn six saves for Northwestern this season. Ethan Bramschreiber and Kyle Ruchim each have two saves to their credit, while Jack Quigley and Dan Tyson have also nailed down victories for the Wildcats this season. Ruchim also has two wins this season as he was the pitcher of record during extra-inning victories against both North Dakota State (3/15) and Iowa (3/22).

TWO-WAY TALENT
In addition to being a member of the baseball program, freshman outfielder Jack Mitchell is also a member of Northwestern's football team under the direction of head coach Pat Fitzgerald. Mitchell, a kicking specialist, did not see any game action as a true freshman in the fall and received a redshirt for his service on the gridiron. NU's football team won the 2013 Gator Bowl on New Year's Day over Mississippi State, 34-20. At Torrey Pines High School, Mitchell starred in both football and baseball on his way to being named the school's 2012 Athlete of the Year.

ON THE AIR
All three games between the Wildcats and Boilermakers will be streamed live on the Big Ten Digital Network. Links to all three broadcasts are available near the top of this page.

For more game notes an information, please download the PDF at the top of the page.

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