Boilermakings Is Throwing Out The First Pitch

Baseball is back! Today your defending Big Ten champions start the 2013 baseball season down in Florida. Purdue takes on Connecticut at 4pm down in Dunedin, Florida in the Big Ten/Big East baseball Challenge. Purdue was 3-0 in this event last season, and this year provides another great opportunity to get off to a solid start. Last year Purdue's 20-2 start against good competition paved the way to hosting a regional.

This year Purdue will face Louisville (ranked No. 4 nationally according to Baseball America), Mississippi State twice (ranked No. 5 according to Baseball America), and Samford (Tallahassee regional runner-up last year) five times in the first 11 games. That's a total of eight games against 2012 NCAA teams, so another solid start puts Purdue in excellent position to reach the NCAAs again. There are also other games against 2012 NCAA teams in a trip to Louisville, a home and home against Indiana State, and a three-game series at Michigan State. Purdue hosts Ohio State and Nebraska in conference play and both could challenge for an NCAA berth.

Big Ten baseball is greatly improving, and this is the year that Purdue can see if last year was a fluke or the start of something bigger.

Onto the links:

Preview Podcast – Purdue " CrimsonCast
I was a guest on the IU CrimsonCast podcast yesterday.

The Evanston Mystery Spot: A Rehashing of Unfortunate Northwestern Basketball Happenings - Sippin' On Purple
Everything always goes wrong for Northwestern basketball. It happened again this year. Anything that uses the "Homer At The Bat" Simpsons episode as a meme is good enough for a link.

2013 Signing Day Recap: Leaders Division - Maize n Brew
How did the Leaders Division do on Signing Day?

Big Ten Weekly Rankings , Week 14, and Conference Efficiency Report - The Crimson Quarry
Another weekly stab at ranking the Big Ten basketball teams, with the latest results and complete mid-conference player efficiency ratings included.

Who's on first? 2013 Buckeye baseball team preview - Land-Grant Holy Land
In a pivotal year for third-year coach Greg Beals, his Buckeyes are set to embark on the program's 130th baseball season. Do the men of Scarlet and Gray have the pieces to claim a 16th Big Ten championship?

BaseballAmerica.com: College: Season Preview: Preseason Predicted Field Of 64
The robust Southeastern Conference expands to 14 teams this year, and it looks deeper than ever, landing eight teams in our preseason Top 25. We project the expanded SEC to send a record 10 teams to regionals, and to host six regionals.

Baseball America | Blog | Baseball America College Blog | Preseason Three Strikes: Sleepers And Roth Stars
Strike One: The Stony Brook Effect Last year was a bonanza for Northern college baseball.

Stay or go? Assessing the Big Ten rivalries - Big Ten Blog - ESPN
The Big Ten lays claim to several of the best rivalries in college sports and more trophy games than any other league.

Postseason projections: Field of 64 | Perfect Game USA
Purdue is not projected in this field, but they do play at projected host Mississippi State next week.

Purdue's 5 Students Who are HealthMakers - Eli Mansfield
Health is in their hands and hearts. They nurture. They heal. They protect. Throughout the life cycle, these Boilers care for the well-being of all. Meet 5 Students Who Are Health Makers.

Welcome To The U: The Late NSD Additions Keep Coming With Corn Elder Picking Miami - State of The U
Cornelius Elder will not be a Boilermaker as he is headed to Coral Gables for football.

Barry Alvarez: Big Ten agrees no more FCS opponents - JSOnline
Amen to this!

I Love College Hoops
Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, post links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.

Projecting the 2013 B1G Baseball Conference Title - Corn Nation
Corn Nation projects Nebraska to win the Big Ten Conference regular season title in a very close race with a 15-9 record, finishing in a tie for first with Ohio State.

OTE Interview WIth Gerry DiNardo, Part 2 - Off Tackle Empire
Gerry DiNardo on why the Rose Bowl doesn't matter if it's not the national championship and how to get back to being the best football conference in America, conference realignment, and why oversigning is a good thing.

B1G Meetings Roundup - Off Tackle Empire
Coaches come out against new recruiting rules, in support of a 9/10 game conference schedule, and lo and behold, Urban Meyer didn't lecture anyone

A Nine or Ten Game Conference Football Schedule? A B1G, Bad Idea - Corn Nation
Some think that adding more conference games will improve football schedules. The financial realities indicate otherwise. If anything, it might mean even worse schedules.