Thursday, April 6
Rochester, Mich.
2:30 PM
Purdue Fort Wayne
at
Oakland
Mastodons Head North to Oakland
4/5/2023 3:24:00 PM | Baseball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Mastodon baseball team looks for their third straight Horizon League series win this week when they travel to Oakland.
Game Day Information
Who: Purdue Fort Wayne (8-21, 5-4 Horizon League) vs. Oakland (10-17, 4-5 Horizon League)
When:
Thursday, April 6 | 2:30 p.m.
February, April 7 | 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 8 | 2 p.m.
Where: Rochester, Mich. | Oakland Baseball Field
Weather: Friday: 53, cloudy | Saturday: 52, cloudy | Sunday: 54, cloudy
Live Stats: Link
Watch (Friday's game only): ESPN+
Series History: Oakland leads 21-18
Probable Starters:
Purdue Fort Wayne: RHP Mac Ayres (1-1), RHP Owen Willard (0-1), LHP Jacob Myer (0-2)
Oakland: RHP Bryce Konitzer (1-2), RHP Hunter Pidek (0-1), LHP Travis Densmore (2-3)
Scouting the Golden Grizzlies: Oakland has won league weekend series with Milwaukee and Youngstown State, but were swept by Wright State. Thomas Green has a team-best 31 hits. The Golden Grizzlies have a team ERA of 9.14 in league play this season. Travis Densmore is 2-1 in league play.
Return of the SAC: Dylan Stewart has a league-best six sacrifice bunts this season. He is averaging one every four games.
Back in Black: Braedon Blackford owns a Horizon League-best eight home runs. He is sixth in the league in slugging (.554), RBIs (24) and runs (23).
Cade Gets on Base: Cade Nelis leads the league in walks (23) while ranking second in on-base percentage (.462). Over his last four games (YSU series and the Toledo game), he has two games with four hits and another with four walks.
Strong Up The Middle: Cade Nelis has been nearly flawless this season at second base. He has started 28 games and owns a .992 fielding percentage with 73 assists and 51 putouts. He has only one error on the season, and that came in the first game of the year at Alabama State.
JD Indeed: JD Deany has allowed one or zero runs in four of his last appearances on the mound.
Masto-Slams: The 'Dons hit grand slams in back-to-back games against Northern Kentucky. On March 24 Ben Higgins hit a grand slam and then in game one on March 26 Jarrett Bickel hit a game-tying grand slam in the seventh inning of a 9-5 win.
Record Within Striking Distance: The 2023 season is Justin Miller's fifth as a Mastodon. Miller owns 192 career strikeouts, the second most in program history for a career. He will look to pass Jason Horvath (2001-04) for the most in program history this season. Horvath recorded 210 strikeouts.
Save X4: Four different Mastodons have recorded a save this season. Brody Fine, Mac Ayres, JD Deany and Justin Miller own saves for the 'Dons.
'Dons Dig The Long Ball: Eight different Mastodons have hit a home run this season.
Turn It!: The Mastodons are 12th in the nation in double plays turned with 27 this season.
Multi-verse: 13 different Mastodons have had a multi-hit game this season. Drew Dillon entered that group with a pair of hits on Tuesday against Toledo.
Hey Batter Batter (of the Week): Braedon Blackford hit .429 and slugged 1.357 with four home runs in 14 at bats over four games played in Winston-Salem, N.C. (March 3-5). He also recorded one double, seven RBIs, five runs scored, two walks and 19 total bases to earn the Horizon League Batter of the Week honor.
Hey Batter Batter (of the Week) X2: Ben HIggins was named the Horizon League Batter of the Week on April 4 for his play the prior weekend. His play was highlighted by his thee home run performance at Youngstown State on March 31). Higgins was the first Mastodon to hit three big flys in a game since 2016.
D1Baseball Top 30: Braedon Blackford was named a Top 30 Hitter of the day for his two-run home run game vs. Cornell. He was ranked No. 11. JD Deany was selected as a Top 30 pitcher for his five shutout innings vs. Cornell. Ben Higgins was named the No. 3 hitter of the day by DIBaseball.com for his three dinger day against Youngstown State.
Up Next: The 'Dons are at the Valparaiso Beacons on April 11.
Game Day Information
Who: Purdue Fort Wayne (8-21, 5-4 Horizon League) vs. Oakland (10-17, 4-5 Horizon League)
When:
Thursday, April 6 | 2:30 p.m.
February, April 7 | 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 8 | 2 p.m.
Where: Rochester, Mich. | Oakland Baseball Field
Weather: Friday: 53, cloudy | Saturday: 52, cloudy | Sunday: 54, cloudy
Live Stats: Link
Watch (Friday's game only): ESPN+
Series History: Oakland leads 21-18
Probable Starters:
Purdue Fort Wayne: RHP Mac Ayres (1-1), RHP Owen Willard (0-1), LHP Jacob Myer (0-2)
Oakland: RHP Bryce Konitzer (1-2), RHP Hunter Pidek (0-1), LHP Travis Densmore (2-3)
Scouting the Golden Grizzlies: Oakland has won league weekend series with Milwaukee and Youngstown State, but were swept by Wright State. Thomas Green has a team-best 31 hits. The Golden Grizzlies have a team ERA of 9.14 in league play this season. Travis Densmore is 2-1 in league play.
Return of the SAC: Dylan Stewart has a league-best six sacrifice bunts this season. He is averaging one every four games.
Back in Black: Braedon Blackford owns a Horizon League-best eight home runs. He is sixth in the league in slugging (.554), RBIs (24) and runs (23).
Cade Gets on Base: Cade Nelis leads the league in walks (23) while ranking second in on-base percentage (.462). Over his last four games (YSU series and the Toledo game), he has two games with four hits and another with four walks.
Strong Up The Middle: Cade Nelis has been nearly flawless this season at second base. He has started 28 games and owns a .992 fielding percentage with 73 assists and 51 putouts. He has only one error on the season, and that came in the first game of the year at Alabama State.
JD Indeed: JD Deany has allowed one or zero runs in four of his last appearances on the mound.
Masto-Slams: The 'Dons hit grand slams in back-to-back games against Northern Kentucky. On March 24 Ben Higgins hit a grand slam and then in game one on March 26 Jarrett Bickel hit a game-tying grand slam in the seventh inning of a 9-5 win.
Record Within Striking Distance: The 2023 season is Justin Miller's fifth as a Mastodon. Miller owns 192 career strikeouts, the second most in program history for a career. He will look to pass Jason Horvath (2001-04) for the most in program history this season. Horvath recorded 210 strikeouts.
Save X4: Four different Mastodons have recorded a save this season. Brody Fine, Mac Ayres, JD Deany and Justin Miller own saves for the 'Dons.
'Dons Dig The Long Ball: Eight different Mastodons have hit a home run this season.
Turn It!: The Mastodons are 12th in the nation in double plays turned with 27 this season.
Multi-verse: 13 different Mastodons have had a multi-hit game this season. Drew Dillon entered that group with a pair of hits on Tuesday against Toledo.
Hey Batter Batter (of the Week): Braedon Blackford hit .429 and slugged 1.357 with four home runs in 14 at bats over four games played in Winston-Salem, N.C. (March 3-5). He also recorded one double, seven RBIs, five runs scored, two walks and 19 total bases to earn the Horizon League Batter of the Week honor.
Hey Batter Batter (of the Week) X2: Ben HIggins was named the Horizon League Batter of the Week on April 4 for his play the prior weekend. His play was highlighted by his thee home run performance at Youngstown State on March 31). Higgins was the first Mastodon to hit three big flys in a game since 2016.
D1Baseball Top 30: Braedon Blackford was named a Top 30 Hitter of the day for his two-run home run game vs. Cornell. He was ranked No. 11. JD Deany was selected as a Top 30 pitcher for his five shutout innings vs. Cornell. Ben Higgins was named the No. 3 hitter of the day by DIBaseball.com for his three dinger day against Youngstown State.
Up Next: The 'Dons are at the Valparaiso Beacons on April 11.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Players Mentioned
INF/P
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P
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