Baseball Opens Postseason Play on Wednesday

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Purdue Fort Wayne will open the 2024 Horizon League Baseball Championship on Wednesday (May 22) against the Milwaukee Panthers. A win would advance the Mastodons to day two of the tournament on Thursday. A loss would mean the 'Dons would play again on Wednesday against the loser of Oakland and Youngstown State at 7 p.m.

Game Day Information
Who: No. 5 Purdue Fort Wayne (18-35, 11-19 Horizon) vs. No. 4 Milwaukee (18-34, 13-17 Horizon)
When: Wednesday, May 22 | 11 a.m. ET
Where: Nischwitz Stadium | Dayton, Ohio
Weather: 80, clear
Live Stats: Link
ESPN+: Wednesday
Tournament Website: Link
Series History with Milwaukee: The Panthers lead 16-13. Milwaukee took both series from the 'Dons this season 2-1.

Scouting the Panthers: Earning All-Horizon League honors for the Panthers were outfielder Carson Hansen and starting pitcher Luke Hansel on first team, while designated hitter Sean Tillmon and starting pitcher Adrian Montilva earned spots on second team.

2024 Award Winners:
Kevin Fee: Reliever of the Year / All-League First Team
Jacob Walker: Sportsmanship Award / All-League Second Team
Justin Osterhouse: All-League Second Team / All-Freshman Team
Carter Sabol: All-League Second Team

Kevin Fee Facts:
- First Mastodon student-athlete to earn a yearly major award since Jared Davis was named the Independent Newcomer of the Year in 2007
- First Mastodon pitcher, starter or reliever, to earn a first team nod since Trevor Storie in 2016
- Leads the league with a 3.22 ERA
- Tied for the league lead in wins (7)
- Tied for second in the league in saves (5)
- Owns program record 89 career pitching appearances
- 28 appearances this season is two short of the program record

Jacob Walker Tidbits:
- Fifth in the league in doubles (19), a total that ranks third in program history for a single season
- Enters the league tournament with a 17-game on-base streak
- Made only two errors in Horizon League play for a .986 fielding percentage
- Started at second base and in the leadoff position in 52-of-53 games

Justin Osterhouse Entries:
- In the league: 3^rd in average (.375), 8^th in slugging (.548), 8^th in OPS (1.086), 10^th in OBP (.438)
- Hit two home runs in the win at Indiana and four in the series split at Missouri
- Had a 15-game hitting streak and 19-game on-base streak in 2024, team bests
- 12 games of multiple RBIs, including back-to-back three RBI games against Wright State

Carter Sabol Statistics:
- Eight pitching appearances with three or fewer earned runs this year
- Third in strikeouts (72) and third in innings pitched (74.2) in the league
- Fanned 10 in 6.1 innings against Wright State for a win (March 23)
- Sat down nine in 6.0 innings vs. Northern Kentucky (April 6)

A Few 'Dons & Ends From 2024
- Kevin Fee was named to the 2024 Horizon League All-Academic Team. Ben Higgins was selected to the honorable mention squad.

- The 'Dons defeated a Big 10 for the third consecutive season by taking down No. 20 Indiana 9-6 on Feb. 27.

- Kevin Fee (pitcher), Carter Sabol (pitcher) and Justin Osterhouse (batter) earned weekly honors from the Horizon League this season.

- The 'Dons turned a league-best 38 double plays.

- Three times this season the 'Dons recorded 20 or more hits in a game. The 'Dons are the only team in the league to have more than two such games.

- The Mastodons' 13 inning game against Toledo was the longest game in the Horizon League this season. The last time the 'Dons played a game of 13 innings or more was back on May 5, 2017 when the 'Dons lost to Omaha. The last Mastodon win in a game that long was a 9-8 win over Butler on April 16, 2005 in 13 innings.

- The 'Dons have played three extra inning games this season and won them all by the identical score of 4-3.

- 14 Mastodons have recorded multi-hit games this season.

~ Feel The Rumble ~

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Players Mentioned

Kevin Fee

Ben Higgins

Justin Osterhouse

Carter Sabol

Jacob Walker

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics