Purdue Sports Update March 12

Baseball Takes First Conference Series

Outfielders Albert Choi and Eli Anderson both robbed an extra-base hit while crashing into the wall, accounting for the top web gems of the night as Purdue defeated Minnesota 6-3 in Friday’s Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.

Logan Sutter hit a two-run homer in the third inning to extend the Boilermakers’ lead to 5-0. He went opposite field again in his next at-bat, connecting for a double just below the yellow home run line on the right field wall at U.S. Bank Stadium. Sutter has reached base safely at least twice in each of the first 14 games as Purdue has roared out to a 13-1 start.

The Boilermakers won their eighth straight Big Ten opener dating back to 2017. They’ve won eight of their last 11 games vs. the Gophers (5-6) in Minneapolis going back to the same year.

Keenan Spence and Aaron Manias connected for a three-run homer and grand slam in consecutive innings after Purdue had fallen behind for the first time on the weekend, powering the Boilermakers to an 11-6 victory Saturday at Minnesota.

Purdue (14-1, 2-0 Big Ten) clinched its fourth straight series victory to begin the season and fourth consecutive series win in Minneapolis dating back to 2017. The Boilermakers are assured of a series win on the road to open Big Ten play for the first time since 2019 at Northwestern.

Purdue trailed 4-2 when Spence hit his three-run homer to left field in the sixth inning. After the Gophers (5-7, 0-2 Big Ten) had retaken the lead 6-5, Manias connected for the Boilers’ third grand slam of the season and first in Big Ten play since Jake Jarvis cleared the bases in the ninth inning of an April 2023 series-clinching win at Minnesota’s Siebert Field.

Brandon Anderson led off the ninth inning with the longest home run of the day, an upper deck blast to right field to extend Purdue’s lead to 10-6.

Manias continued his monster week with another four-hit game, giving him 13 RBI over the three wins this week. While his leadoff double in the second inning may have been a gift after outfielder Drew Berkland lost the fly ball in the U.S. Bank Stadium roof, there was nothing cheap about Manias’ game-changing blast to right center with the sacks packed in the seventh inning. Purdue loaded the bases without the luxury of a hit via a hit by pitch of Albert Choi and consecutive one-out walks to Anderson and Logan Sutter with a pitching changed sandwiched in between.

Logan Sutter and Keenan Spence both delivered a run-scoring hit in each of the first two innings as Purdue raced out to a six-run lead, but Minnesota reeled off nine unanswered runs to rally back and take the series finale 10-8 Sunday inside U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Boilermakers (14-2, 2-1 Big Ten) were denied of their first-ever sweep in Minneapolis with a loss in the series finale for the fourth consecutive trip to the Twin Cities dating back to 2017. But Purdue still managed to win three of four in its first week of action in the Midwest and now opens a 13-game homestand Wednesday that will keep the team at Alexander Field through April 2.

With 70 degree temperatures expected, Wednesday’s (March 12) home opener vs. Butler is slated for a 4 p.m. ET first pitch as the first $3 midweek matchup of the season. It begins a 13-game homestand with UIC, Milwaukee, Michigan, Valparaiso, UCLA and Northern Illinois also visiting Alexander Field. It is the same length as the home-opening run the Boilermakers had in March 2024. A year ago, Purdue went 8-5 on that homestand, 4-2 in midweek home dates and 16-13 at Alexander overall.

Softball Goes 3-1 In Home-Opening Weekend

The Boilers split day one of the Boilermaker Classic, falling to Saint Louis (8-9) in game one and winning out over Bradley (7-13).

Purdue had consistent offense all day, registering five doubles and one triple. Defensively, the Boilers had 41 putouts, 17 made by Julia Gossett.

Purdue came back from splitting day one, to sweep day two, defeating the Billikens 4-2 (8-12) and the Bradley Braves 11-1 (8-13).

Emma Bailey took over the end of game one against St. Louis, with a season best, only allowing two hits, with no earned runs. Bailey also struck out two batters, tying her career-best and setting a new season-high. The Boilermakers exploded in game two against Bradley, registering 11 runs on nine hits, four sacrifice bunts and only two strikeouts, a tie for their season-best.

The Boilers take on #5 UCLA in Los Angeles, Calif. on Fri., March 14 at 9:00 p.m. ET for the opening of Big Ten play.

Blaze, Ramos Win Big Ten Bronze; 5 Boilers Lock Up NCAA Wrestling Bids

Five Boilermakers will represent Purdue on the national stage after earning automatic qualifying bids at the 2025 Big Ten Wrestling Championships.

Brody Baumann, Joey Blaze, Greyson Clark, Hayden Filipovich and Matt Ramos all punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships.

Sophomore Blaze and redshirt-senior Ramos were the two Boilermakers left wrestling into the final session on Sunday night in the third-place matches of their respective weight classes.

They both capitalized with bronze medals, giving Purdue multiple top-three finishes for the first time since 2020.

Blaze became Purdue’s first true sophomore to earn a top-three Big Ten finish since Doug Withstandley in 2004.

After suffering his first defeat of the season in Saturday’s semifinal to the eventual 125 champion, Ramos bounced back to salvage his final B1G trip with two huge victories on Sunday to win bronze at 125 pounds.

His third-place finish matches his best career mark at the Big Ten Championships (third in 2023).

Ramos shut out Indiana’s Jacob Moran in a 9-0 major decision before beating Wisconsin’s Nicolar Rivera for the third time this season, 8-5, in the third-place match.

Ramos will make his fourth trip to the national tournament with his primary goal of winning an NCAA title still intact. He has the chance to be Purdue’s first national champion since Charles Jones in 1992 and the fifth in school history.

Purdue finished in 10th place as a team with 44.5 points, an improvement from its 2024 total of 41.5 points.

UP NEXT

The remaining at-large NCAA Championships bids for each weight class will be announced in the coming week. Five Boilermakers are guaranteed to make the trip to Philadelphia with a chance for more.

The national tournament will be hosted inside Wells Fargo Center from March 20-22.

Rzepka, Samuels Finish Strong at Big Tens as 16 Boilers Score

Jordan Rzepka won the conference title in platform diving to cap a distinguished career at the Big Ten Championships and his classmate Brady Samuels eclipsed three individual team records over the course of the week, headlining the championship meet for Purdue Men’s Swimming & Diving.

Sixteen Boilermakers scored in at least one individual event at Big Tens this season, with 10 of the student-athletes among that group scoring in multiple events. Headlined by four team records, 21 lifetime bests from Big Tens went into the program record book.

Rzepka also won bronze in 3-meter diving for the second year in a row, closing his four-year run at Big Tens with six medals – one gold, three silver, two bronze – and a perfect 12-for-12 in top-10 finishes. As the Purdue men’s first Big Ten Diver of the Championships since coach David Boudia won the final of his three such honors in 2011, Rzepka accounted for a career-high 84 team points. The 312 points he accounted for over the last four years are the most by a Boilermaker – male or female – since the top-24 scoring format was introduced in 2016.

Rzepka’s six career medals at Big Tens are believed to be third most in team history behind Olympic medalists David Boudia (9) and Steele Johnson (7). Brandon Loschiavo was the Boilermakers’ last Big Ten champion, winning the last of his three conference titles on platform in 2021.

Samuels set team records in the 50 freestyle (19.24), 100 butterfly (45.10) and 200 free (1:32.52). He established the 200 benchmark on the leadoff leg of the 800 free relay, teaming up with three freshmen – Blake Rowe, Walker Mattice and Evan Mackesy – to eclipse the team record in that event as well. In the 200 free relay, Samuels’ 50 split 18.78 on the second leg of the race is the fastest ever by a Boilermaker.

Samuels was a two-time A finalist for the fourth year in a row while accounting for 62 team points. His 253 team points over the last four years represents the most by any Purdue swimmer since 2016.

Tyler Wills won bronze in platform diving to become the Boilermakers’ first freshman medalist since 2022. He was joined on the new Big Ten All-Freshman Team by Zach Welsh and Kaden Springfield. Welsh finished top 10 on both springboards and Springfield was also a championship finalist on the tower. That trio ranked 3-4-5 among Purdue’s scoring leaders.

Five Boilermakers qualified for NCAAs on both springboards. Avery Worobel was victorious on 1-meter and Jenna Sonneberg’s sixth-place finish was significant as the event’s final automatic-qualifying spot for the NCAA Championships, headlining Tuesday at the Zone C Championships that featured five Purdue Divers ultimately qualifying for the national championship meet in both springboard events.

Jordan Rzepka (fourth), Zach Welsh (fifth) and Max Miller (ninth) were all top 10 in the men’s 3-meter event to add to their programs at NCAAs. They only needed to be top 12 Tuesday after finishing among the automatic-qualifying spots on 1-meter Monday.

Swimming qualifiers for the men’s NCAA Championships will be announced on Wednesday, March 12. The Zone C Diving Championships (March 10-12 in Columbus) serve as diving’s NCAA qualifier for teams based in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky.

Purdue Shut Out at Penn State

Despite a hard-fought battle which saw three singles courts force a third set and a close doubles showing, No. 65 Purdue women’s tennis fell at No. 34 Penn State, 0-4. With the result, Purdue suffered its second loss in the last seven duals as the team falls to 7-3 (1-2 Big Ten) and Penn State remains undefeated at home behind an 11-1 overall record  (2-0 Big Ten).

The Boilermakers were within sight of winning the doubles point with Purdue’s No. 2 and No. 3 pairs forcing extras. With Purdue’s No. 86 ranked doubles pair of Carmen Gallardo Guevara and Tara Katarina Milic falling 3-6, Purdue’s No. 2 duo of Fatima Gutierrez and Kathryn Wilson tied their match, 5-5 and No. 3’s Ida Clement and Ashlie Wilson also forcing a tiebreaker. While Purdue was ahead, 5-6 at the No. 2 position, Penn State overpowered the Boilermakers at No. 3 behind a 5-7 score to clinch the doubles point.

Three singles courts forced a Set 3, with No. 1 Gallardo Guevara (Set 1 6-1 win), No. 2 Ida Clement (Set 2 6-3 win) and No. 3 Fatima Gutierrez (Set 2 6-4 win). Gutierrez nearly had the opening frame, falling in Set 1 extras, 5-7 before she came back for Set 2.

The Boilermakers return home this week to host a Friday afternoon showdown vs. Rutgers at 1 p.m. ET followed by Maryland on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.

Men’s Tennis Falls Out West

In the first-ever meeting between the two programs, No. 44 Purdue fell at No. 33 USC, 1-6. Despite the loss, freshman Nour Fathalla picked up his first collegiate Big Ten win, downing his opponent Niels Hoffmann, 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (5).

With the result, Purdue men’s tennis suffered just its second loss of the season as the team falls to 8-2 (0-1 Big Ten) while No. 33 USC improves to 7-4 (1-0 Big Ten). The Trojans were the highest ranked opponent the Boilermakers have faced this season.

Three courts went to a third set to decide a victor: Juan David Velasquez, Stefan Simeunovic and Nour Fathalla. Fathalla, a freshman, picked up his first Big Ten win of his career after coming back from a Set 1 loss to finish 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (5). The Alexandria, Egypt native improves to an 8-1 record this spring, including 3-0 at the No. 6 position.

Meanwhile, Velasquez and Simeunovic, the No. 2 and No. 4 positions, respectively, began with a strong start with Set 1 wins. On both courts, USC came back to tie the match, 1-1. Velasquez and his opponent, No. 112 ranked player in the nation Nathan Trouve went point-for-point in the third set before Trouve pulled away to win it, 4-6. 

Purdue closed out its trip out west with a 0-7 loss to No. 62 UCLA. With the result, Purdue falls to 8-3 (0-2 Big Ten) while UCLA improves to 4-6 (2-0 Big Ten).

The Boilermakers were the seventh top-44 team the Bruins have played this season while it was the fourth ranked matchup of the season for the Boilermakers, including the third in the last five matches.

Purdue’s No. 1 singles player Aleksa Krivokapic forced a third set against UCLA’s top player ranked No. 37 in the ITA poll, Rudy Quan, marking the Boilermaker’s second top-37 ranked opponent in 24 hours. Krivokapic came out with a strong start behind a 6-4  win in Set 1, however the Montenegro native went on to fall 6-4, 3-6, 0-1 (3).

Freshman Maj Premzl nearly pushed his match on Court 5 to a third set after holding a lead late in the set, however a comeback from Gianluca Ballotta closed out the match. It was just the second loss of the season for the freshman, falling to an 8-2 record in 2025.

The Boilermakers return to action this weekend at home. First the team takes on Illinois on Friday at 5 p.m. ET before turning around for a Sunday afternoon showdown vs. Northwestern.

WGOLF: Kahler ties school record in South Carolina

 With the help of a career-low 68 (-4) in the final round, sophomore Jasmine Kahler tied a 36-hole school record to lead Purdue Women’s Golf to a runner-up finish at the Briar’s Creek Invitational. Kahler earned runner-up honors herself with her 6-under 138 (70-68) that matched Melati Purti’s two-round program best set at the 2019 Big Ten Championships.

The Boilermakers carded a final round 290 (+2) as a team to tie for second alongside SMU at 5-over and 14 shots back of No. 6 Florida State (-9). Purdue’s 581 (291-290) became the third-best 36-hole team score in school history.

Along with tying a school record, Kahler finished 6-under for Purdue’s lowest score (in relation to par) for a tournament this season. The second-place performance was her best as a Boilermaker, and she collected her fifth career Top 10. The Carlsbad, California, native led the 99-player field with 11 birdies over the 36 holes, while ranking second in par-4 scoring (-3).

Purdue Announces 2025 Outdoor Schedule

Outdoor Track & Field has released its 2025 schedule that is set to begin in Tampa, Fla. on March 21. The Boilermakers are set for eight regular season meets before Big Tens, NCAA East First Round and NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The schedule begins at the USF Alumni Invitational March 21-22 in Tampa, Fla. for Purdue’s spring break trip. The following week features the distance squad at the Raleigh Relays, hosted by NC State, March 27-29.

Purdue then returns to Florida for the Pepsi Florida Relays in Gainesville from April 4-5. The multis and distance squad follow with two separate trips to Azusa, Calif. The multis are at the Bryan Clay Multis (April 10-11) and distance follows for the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 16-18). The rest of the team will travel to the Tom Jones Memorial hosted by Florida (April 18-19).

The throwers follow with a trip to the Fighting Illini Twilight, hosted by Illinois, April 26 before the Jim Green Invitational in Lexington, Ky. rounds out the regular season schedule from May 2-3.

The championship season begins with Big Tens from May 16-18 in Eugene, Ore. and is followed by the NCAA East First Round in Jacksonville, Fla. (May 28-31). Qualified Boilers will wrap up the 2025 season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 11-14 in Eugene.

Seven Boilermakers are set to close out the 2024-25 indoor season at the NCAA Indoor Championships March 14-15 in Virginia Beach, Va. Cameron Miller (200m), Praise Aniamaka (triple jump), Zoe Sullivan (60m hurdles) and Jalen Elrod (pentathlon) all qualified individually. The men’s 4x400m relay team of Miller, Connor Czajkowski, Brett Otterbacher and Antoine Spencer also qualified.