Purdue travels for rematch
with Ball State
By Seth Schwartz
Senior Writer
Coming off of a 3-0 weekend sweep at Michigan State,
the Purdue baseball team is riding on high confidence and a little motivation
going into today’s game against intrastate rival Ball State.
The Boilermakers (10-14, 4-2 Big Ten) lost to Ball
State 7-0 in the Governor’s College Classic at Austin Peay State
University in Clarksville, Tenn., on Feb. 23.
However, the loss that still sours in the mouths
of Boilers who were around at the time is the one they suffered two
years ago in Muncie, 23-7.
"We lost to them earlier in the year, so there’s
a little redemption we want to get from that," said pitcher David
Gassner. "A couple of years back they blew us out at their place,
23-7. So we’ll use that as a little extra motivational factor.
It didn’t help earlier in the year, but I think this time around
we’re going to do whatever it takes to get that done."
Gassner has pitched very well in his previous two
starts. Against Minnesota on March 24, he pitched a complete seven-inning
game, giving up two runs and striking out seven. Last Saturday, he pitched
a complete game shutout against Michigan State, allowing only four hits
and striking out nine batters.
Purdue coach Doug Schreiber said that this is what
the team knew Gassner could do all along, but he was pressing to do
too much early in the season.
"We’ve taken the pressure off of him
as far as calling his own game and doing some things like that,"
he said. "He’s just really focusing a lot better and he’s
now focused down in the zone. … After he got banged up early, he
was kind of wondering what was going on. Since then, I think he’s
attacked it and said, ‘Well, I’m going to figure it out and
I’m going to attack it aggressively.’ So that’s where
I think his success has been. He’s been focused to change it and
turn it around and not just hoping to turn it around."
According to Gassner, the success of the rest of
the team has been enough motivation to get himself going.
"Since Big Ten started — this is the
main season that we work for and we’re going to do what it takes
to be Big Ten champs," he said. "I don’t want to go out
my senior year thinking what might have been and stuff like that."
Purdue is 33-27-2 all-time against Ball State.
The Boilers beat the Cardinals in West Lafayette last year, 4-3.
The team swept Michigan State last weekend, although
their fourth game was cancelled due to snow in Lansing, Mich. Purdue
pitcher Sean O’Neil was supposed to pitch that game, but will probably
be called upon tomorrow.
Coach Schreiber said that success isn’t the
most important thing right now. Attitude is most important, regardless
of wins and losses, he said.
"We have to have a little bit of fight in
us," he said. "I really felt good after that first game against
Minnesota that we lost. I felt good about our team, about the direction
we were heading, about our attitude and our effort. It’s starting
to pay off.
"We’re not going to put a lot of stock
in the wins and losses as far as building our confidence. We’ve
got to have confidence within based on everything — our preparation,
past experiences, yes, but not so much the result. The result when you
win is going to help you build your confidence a little bit, so our
guys are going to be feeling a little bit better."
Schreiber said Ball State is a quality opponent
with aggressive hitters and that since the teams played each other,
Ball State has struggled a little.
"Their record doesn’t reflect the type
of team that they have," he said. "They’ll be an aggressive
team for us and a great team to play midweek to get us ready for a weekend.
We’re not trying to play midweek games to try to get wins. We’re
trying to play midweek games against good competition to prepare us
for the weekend."
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