Jackson Micheels
Baseball Returns to Play at Oakland
5/1/2025 12:01:00 PM | Baseball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The suburbs of Detroit is the next stop for the Purdue Fort Wayne baseball team. The Mastodons will travel to Oakland to face the Golden Grizzlies this weekend. All three games are slated to air on ESPN+.
Who: Purdue Fort Wayne (8-34, 6-14 Horizon League) at Oakland (13-33, 6-15 Horizon League)
When: Friday, May 2 | 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 3 | 2 p.m.
Sunday, May 4 | 1 p.m.
Where: Rochester, Mich. | Oakland Baseball Field
Live Stats: Link
ESPN+: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Series History: Oakland leads 31-24. The 'Dons took all three from Oakland earlier this season in the series played in Fort Wayne.
About The Golden Grizzlies: Oakland lost a midweek contest to Toledo 8-5 this week. They took 2-of-3 from Northern Kentucky last weekend including a 16-10 win on Sunday. In league play, Oakland is hitting .259, sixth in the league. They own a team ERA of 7.93 in league play. Matthew McGann is slugging .667 in league play, sixth in the league. Brandon Nigh has 18 doubles in all games, most in the league.
Probable Starters:
Purdue Fort Wayne: RHP Dillon Fischer, RHP Sean Kasper, RHP Gavin Walters
Oakland: RHP Hunter Pidek, LHP Grant Garman, TBD
38 Would Be Great: Brooks Sailors enters the weekend with a 37-game on-base streak. It is tied for the Division I era program record. Cade Nelis also had 37 in 2023 and Jackson Boyce's streak hit 37 games in 2017. A few notes on Sailors' 37-game streak
- The streak started on Feb. 23, the opening game at Austin Peay.
- The only game he hasn't reached base was Feb. 16 at LSU when he pinch hit in the eighth inning and flew out to right field. He had a hit in the opener of the series at LSU and a walk in game two.
- Sailors has recorded multiple walks in seven of the 37 games. This includes three consecutive games with three walks at Youngstown State (March 21 and March 23).
- He has multiple hits in six games in the streak, including four hits vs. Youngstown State (April 27).
- He has been hit by pitch only twice in the streak, but neither were the only reason his streak continued.
- Sailors has 37 walks on the season, seventh most in a season in program history. 41 walks would get him to second in program history for single-season walks. The record is held by Malcolm White. He walked 54 times in 2012. However White's longest on-base streak in 2012 was only seven games.
'Dons & Ends:
- In league play, Kevin Hall is leading the team with a .358 batting average. His OPS is at 1.013.
- Jackson Micheels has a team-best 13 multi-hit games.
- Jackson Micheels is the only Mastodon to start every game this season.
- Brooks Sailors is tied for the league lead in walks (37). His total ranks 59th in the nation.
- Zane Danielson's 5.82 ERA is 4th in the league, 4th in opposing batting average (.269), 5th in strikeouts (48) and 5th in innings pitched (55.2).
- Dillon Fischer is 1st in the league in innings pitched (62.2).
- In 11 starts this season, Zane Danielson has allowed more than four earned runs only twice.
- Freshman Aidan Pearson has allowed one or zero earned runs in 12 appearances this season.
- Freshman Trent Murphy has allowed one or zero earned runs in 11 appearances this season. He tossed 3.2 innings of one-hit, shutout ball at Wright State on April 13. He has gone 3.0 innings or longer five times
- Cole Newell hasn't allows more than two earned runs in an appearance this season. He tossed three innings of one-run ball to get the win at Michigan State (April 22).
POTW: Purdue Fort Wayne earned both Horizon League weekly honors on April 1. Justin Osterhouse was the Batter of the Week. He had two home runs and got on base 10 times. Zane Danielson had nine strikeouts and allowed one unearned run in 6.0 innings vs. Oakland to get the Pitcher of the Week honor.
On That 20-16 Win: The Mastodons defeated Youngstown State 20-16 on March 23 in game two of a doubleheader. The 20 runs tied for 6th in Division I era program history for runs in a game. The 'Dons tied for 1st in the Division I era program history for walks in a game with 13. The 12 walks in game one of the doubleheader to start the day tied for second for most walks in a game.
Fischer Honor: Dillon Fischer was picked as a top 100 pitcher from the fourth weekend of the season by DI Baseball. Fischer allowed no runs in 6.1 innings at Tennessee Tech.
Karczewski Honor: Camden Karczewski was named a top 100 performer by DI Baseball for his four hits (home run, two doubles and a single) against Northern Kentucky.
Nice to Meet You: This season isn't the first time Kevin Hall and Nick Hockemeyer are teammates. They spent the summer of 2024 playing for the Elizabethton River Riders of the Appalachian League. Hall had a .453 OBP in 26 games for the River Riders. Hockemeyer hit .296 in 18 games.
Blood Lines: Mastodon head coach Doug Schreiber coached Trent Murphy's father, Ron, when Schreiber was an assistant at Ball State.
Up Next: The Mastodons travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to face the Milwaukee Panthers May 9-11. The final game of the series will be played in Kenosha, Wisconsin at Simmons Field. The venue has a connection to Fort Wayne, as it was home to the Kenosha Twins 1984-92. The following season the franchise moved to Fort Wayne to become the Fort Wayne Wizards/TinCaps.
~ Feel The Rumble ~
Who: Purdue Fort Wayne (8-34, 6-14 Horizon League) at Oakland (13-33, 6-15 Horizon League)
When: Friday, May 2 | 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 3 | 2 p.m.
Sunday, May 4 | 1 p.m.
Where: Rochester, Mich. | Oakland Baseball Field
Live Stats: Link
ESPN+: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Series History: Oakland leads 31-24. The 'Dons took all three from Oakland earlier this season in the series played in Fort Wayne.
About The Golden Grizzlies: Oakland lost a midweek contest to Toledo 8-5 this week. They took 2-of-3 from Northern Kentucky last weekend including a 16-10 win on Sunday. In league play, Oakland is hitting .259, sixth in the league. They own a team ERA of 7.93 in league play. Matthew McGann is slugging .667 in league play, sixth in the league. Brandon Nigh has 18 doubles in all games, most in the league.
Probable Starters:
Purdue Fort Wayne: RHP Dillon Fischer, RHP Sean Kasper, RHP Gavin Walters
Oakland: RHP Hunter Pidek, LHP Grant Garman, TBD
38 Would Be Great: Brooks Sailors enters the weekend with a 37-game on-base streak. It is tied for the Division I era program record. Cade Nelis also had 37 in 2023 and Jackson Boyce's streak hit 37 games in 2017. A few notes on Sailors' 37-game streak
- The streak started on Feb. 23, the opening game at Austin Peay.
- The only game he hasn't reached base was Feb. 16 at LSU when he pinch hit in the eighth inning and flew out to right field. He had a hit in the opener of the series at LSU and a walk in game two.
- Sailors has recorded multiple walks in seven of the 37 games. This includes three consecutive games with three walks at Youngstown State (March 21 and March 23).
- He has multiple hits in six games in the streak, including four hits vs. Youngstown State (April 27).
- He has been hit by pitch only twice in the streak, but neither were the only reason his streak continued.
- Sailors has 37 walks on the season, seventh most in a season in program history. 41 walks would get him to second in program history for single-season walks. The record is held by Malcolm White. He walked 54 times in 2012. However White's longest on-base streak in 2012 was only seven games.
'Dons & Ends:
- In league play, Kevin Hall is leading the team with a .358 batting average. His OPS is at 1.013.
- Jackson Micheels has a team-best 13 multi-hit games.
- Jackson Micheels is the only Mastodon to start every game this season.
- Brooks Sailors is tied for the league lead in walks (37). His total ranks 59th in the nation.
- Zane Danielson's 5.82 ERA is 4th in the league, 4th in opposing batting average (.269), 5th in strikeouts (48) and 5th in innings pitched (55.2).
- Dillon Fischer is 1st in the league in innings pitched (62.2).
- In 11 starts this season, Zane Danielson has allowed more than four earned runs only twice.
- Freshman Aidan Pearson has allowed one or zero earned runs in 12 appearances this season.
- Freshman Trent Murphy has allowed one or zero earned runs in 11 appearances this season. He tossed 3.2 innings of one-hit, shutout ball at Wright State on April 13. He has gone 3.0 innings or longer five times
- Cole Newell hasn't allows more than two earned runs in an appearance this season. He tossed three innings of one-run ball to get the win at Michigan State (April 22).
POTW: Purdue Fort Wayne earned both Horizon League weekly honors on April 1. Justin Osterhouse was the Batter of the Week. He had two home runs and got on base 10 times. Zane Danielson had nine strikeouts and allowed one unearned run in 6.0 innings vs. Oakland to get the Pitcher of the Week honor.
On That 20-16 Win: The Mastodons defeated Youngstown State 20-16 on March 23 in game two of a doubleheader. The 20 runs tied for 6th in Division I era program history for runs in a game. The 'Dons tied for 1st in the Division I era program history for walks in a game with 13. The 12 walks in game one of the doubleheader to start the day tied for second for most walks in a game.
Fischer Honor: Dillon Fischer was picked as a top 100 pitcher from the fourth weekend of the season by DI Baseball. Fischer allowed no runs in 6.1 innings at Tennessee Tech.
Karczewski Honor: Camden Karczewski was named a top 100 performer by DI Baseball for his four hits (home run, two doubles and a single) against Northern Kentucky.
Nice to Meet You: This season isn't the first time Kevin Hall and Nick Hockemeyer are teammates. They spent the summer of 2024 playing for the Elizabethton River Riders of the Appalachian League. Hall had a .453 OBP in 26 games for the River Riders. Hockemeyer hit .296 in 18 games.
Blood Lines: Mastodon head coach Doug Schreiber coached Trent Murphy's father, Ron, when Schreiber was an assistant at Ball State.
Up Next: The Mastodons travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to face the Milwaukee Panthers May 9-11. The final game of the series will be played in Kenosha, Wisconsin at Simmons Field. The venue has a connection to Fort Wayne, as it was home to the Kenosha Twins 1984-92. The following season the franchise moved to Fort Wayne to become the Fort Wayne Wizards/TinCaps.
~ Feel The Rumble ~
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/ BaseballJustin Osterhouse catch at Oakland
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