Purdue baseball notebook: Why the Boilermakers are playing in Des Moines, pursuit of top four finish, NCAA berth, and "black magic"
The Boilermakers are set to close out the regular season with a three-game series against Iowa in Des Moines.
The Boilermakers finish the regular season against Iowa, but not in Iowa City. The three-game series is being held in Des Moines.
And Greg Goff’s team can still finish in the top four in the Big Ten standings, earning a bye in the conference tournament, but will need wins and help. Purdue also remains part of the NCAA conversation.
HELLO, DES MOINES
The call came from Iowa coach Rick Heller during the summer, and it didn’t take long for Goff to say yes. But first, Purdue’s baseball coach had to Google Principal Park, home of the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines, and check out the facility.
“He said, ‘Would you have a problem if we went over there instead of playing at our place?’ ” Goff recalled. “I looked at the stadium and did my research. I called him and said, ‘Heck yeah, let’s do this.’ It’s gonna be a great environment.”
It’s the third straight year Iowa has hosted a series in Des Moines, playing Florida International (2024) and Oregon State (2025). Both Purdue and Iowa are jockeying for seeds in the Big Ten tournament, giving the final series plenty of meaning.
“It’s great exposure with our program and our team and what we’re doing,” Goff said. “Again, an opportunity to play in a big, beautiful ballpark like that, on the final weekend, with something on the line, it’s pretty amazing.”
WHAT’S AT STAKE
The Boilermakers can climb into the top four in the standings and earn a bye into the single-elimination portion of the conference tournament.
They’ll likely need to win two games against the Hawkeyes while USC and Oregon - the two teams ahead of them in the standings - battle during a three-game series in Eugene. Ideally, either USC or Oregon wins three games, and if Purdue takes care of business, it could vault into the top four.
The Boilermakers also remain part of the NCAA tournament discussion. The college baseball bracketologists have different opinions. Some say Purdue is part of the field heading into the last weekend. Others are not as confident.
The Boilermakers have won seven straight games, including a sweep against Indiana last weekend, and played well during the Big Ten season. The all-important RPI ranking is No. 47 as Purdue looks to separate itself from other teams on the bubble.
PURDUE SWEEPS INDIANA: Boilermakers stun Hoosiers in series opener | Purdue ambushes IU with ninth-inning rally | Wild, crazy, unpredictable as Boilermakers sweep IU for first time since 2011
“I’ve done this a couple of times, and we got some at large bids, and it’s how you finish and how you play in the (Big Ten) tournament,” Goff said. “If we can continue to do that, and go play well against Iowa on the road, and then go and have a great showing, it’s out of our control.
“We did everything we could. I think that’s the biggest thing is just continuing to show up one game at a time and play our best and see what happens.”
Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes could move as high as sixth but fall to No. 12, depending on how the series plays out.
Purdue is currently tied for fourth with Oregon, but loses the tiebreaker after the Ducks won the series in early March. The Boilermakers are one game behind USC, which swept the regular-season series in late April.
IF THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT STARTED TODAY
How would the 12-team field look? It’s a new format.
Minnesota, Washington, and Rutgers are currently tied for 10th. Tiebreaking procedures, per Purdue game notes:
When teams have not played each other this season, the league has gone back to records vs the top eight teams in the final standings to break ties (formerly it was records vs. common opponents). That same protocol is primarily used to break multi-team ties when not all the teams have played each other.
Rutgers has the schedule edge traveling to Northwestern, which is 7-20 in league play, while Washington plays host to first-place UCLA (26-1) and Minnesota faces second-place Nebraska (20-7) in Minneapolis.
May 19
Game 1: No. 5 Purdue vs. No. 12 Rutgers
Game 2: No. 8 Illinois vs. No. 9 Iowa
Game 3: No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Washington
Game 4: No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 11 Minnesota
May 20
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (Winner advances to play No. 4 seed Oregon)
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 (Winner advances to play No. 3 seed USC)
May 21
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 7 (Winner advances to play No. 1 UCLA)
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8 (Winner advances to play No. 2 Nebraska)
The quarterfinals (May 22), semifinals (May 23), and championship (May 24) rounds are single elimination.
EXTENDED ROAD TRIP
The Boilermakers packed for a long bus trip, covering more than 550 miles one way.
After facing the Hawkeyes in Des Moines, the team’s traveling party will leave for the Big Ten tournament in Omaha on Sunday at noon ET. Purdue’s first game could be as early as Tuesday or as late as Friday, May 22, depending on their finish in the standings.
WBB: Slovenia’s Zoja Stirn commits to Boilermakers
“BLACK MAGIC”
At Louisiana Tech, Goff called it “Blue Magic,” a reference to the school’s colors. At Purdue, it’s “Black Magic.”
It’s been a special season, featuring dramatic finishes and the Boilermakers overcoming injuries and adversity to reach the final weekend. Through it all, Goff’s team hasn’t lost its belief.
“I’ve been calling it that for a long time, and I tell our team all the time, when you've got guys that believe and give themselves up and play hard and cheer hard and don’t care who gets a credit, that magic evolves into something special,” Goff said. “And so we call it, since we’re gold and black, we call it black magic around here. It’s alive and well with this team.”
WEEKEND SCHEDULE/PROBABLE PITCHERS
Game 1: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. (Cole Van Assen vs. Iowa’s Maddux Frese)
Game 2: Friday, 7:30 p.m. (Zach Erdman vs. Iowa’s Tyler Guerin)
Game 3: Saturday, 2 p.m. (Austin Klug vs. TBA)