Boilermaker baseball comes to Cookeville for three-game series
Tennessee Tech baseball will host a three-day, three game series against the Boilermakers of Purdue this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The first pitch of game one is set to be thrown at 3 p.m. on Friday.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Tech baseball will host a three-day, three game series against the Boilermakers of Purdue this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The first pitch of game one is set to be thrown at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Tech is looking to bounce back from a late-game, five-run rally by East Tennessee State on Wednesday in the ninth inning that handed the Golden Eagles a 6-5 loss in Bush Stadium, leaving them with a record of 7-10 headed into this weekend's series. Out of the Big 10 Purdue, meanwhile, has amassed a record of 11-5 on the season, but is riding a three-game losing streak having just taken losses from UT Martin, Vanderbilt and Belmont.
Game one of the series - which will mark the first ever meeting between the two opponents in program history - will feature sophomore Tristan Archer (RHP) for the Golden Eagles. Archer has a current ERA of 4.72 and a record of 3-1 on the season. With 26.2 innings of work thus far this season, he ranks second on the team in the amount of time spent on the mound, surpassed only by Saturday's starter, junior Matt Shepherd (RHP). Archer has notched 23 strikeouts on the season, allowing 15 runs on 32 hits.
Shepherd, who will toss the first pitch of game two at 2 p.m. on Saturday, leads the Golden Eagles in innings pitched with 27.1 and in strikeouts with 28. He has surrendered 17 runs off of 25 hits and currently maintains a 2.96 ERA with a 1-3 record on the season. Shepherd was voted the OVC's Pitcher of the Week last week for his efforts in game two against Youngstown State.
Senior southpaw Chad Oberacker will take the hill in Sunday's finale contest at 1 p.m. Oberacker's ERA of 3.10 ranks second on the team amongst pitchers having worked more than 20 innings. He has struck out 22 on the season and holds opponents to a .187 average against him.
Purdue will showcase Robert Ramer (RHP) in game one, a sophomore with a 4.00 ERA in nine innings pitched on the season. The game will mark Ramer's first start of the season, on which he maintains a 1-0 record in three appearances. He's allowed only five hits so far this year, and has 10 Ks under his belt.
Sophomore Nick Wittgren (RHP) will hurl game two for the Boilermakers, also making his first start of the year. He has a 3.95 ERA in 13.2 innings of work, and has struck out 11. A third sophomore, Brad Schreiber, will pitch game three on Sunday. Schreiber has already started four games this season and has amassed an undefeated, 3-0 record. He leads the team in innings pitched with 24 and has struck out 23 on the year. Schreiber has allowed 11 earned runs on 18 hits for an ERA of 4.12.
Fans who can't make it out to Bush Stadium for this weekend's action can follow the LiveStats here.
