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IllustrateD volume 24, issue 4 77 f "If Minch, Podkul and Wood can be healthy and put forth what we think that they can, I'd put that up against anybody," Schreiber said. "And that will give us a chance to stay in ball games. Last year, we really struggled because our relief was young and somewhat experienced. … Another year, and I think we have a few more options out of the bullpen and that will be key. But if those three can stay healthy, I think they can get us deep into ball games." The bullpen was a huge question. Right-hander Mike Lutz set a fresh- man record for appearances, with 25, due largely to being the only reliable arm, but his record was 1-6 with a 6.75 ERA. He'll work middle relief, as will sophomore righty Eddie De LaRiva and freshman Matt Frawley. The 6-4 Haan could also be a bullpen arm, but starts the season in the rotation. At the tail end, Purdue will go with sophomore fire-ballers Patrick Ken- ney, a righty, Tim McElroy, the bull- pen's only lefty, along with big junior right-hander Joe Eichmann. But Purdue's looking for one to emerge as a closer, one to follow in the footsteps of pitchers like Josh Lindblom and Nick Wittgren of years past. Kenney, who can hit 90 on the radar gun, will get the first shot to lock down the role. "Lindblom and Wittgren both kind of evolved into our closer," Schreiber said. "So we're waiting on someone to kind of step up and evolve into that person." But if the arms are better, the de- fense needs to be, as well. Last season, Purdue was far too leaky, twice committing at least sev- en errors in a game. But McHugh, who will play third base and catch, thinks offseason emphasis will help. "We did have our fair share of er- rors last year," he said. "Schreiber always talks about just having con- fidence in yourself to make plays, and if you make an error being able to come back and want the ball hit 2014 BaseBall schedule Date Opponent Time/Result Feb. 16 at Tennessee L, 0-3 Feb. 16 at Tennessee L, 2-20 Feb. 17 at Tennessee L, 2-8 Feb. 21 at Rice 5:30 p.m. Feb. 22 at Rice 3 p.m. Feb. 23 at Rice 2 p.m. Feb. 28 at Missouri State 4:05 p.m. March 1 at Missouri State 3:05 p.m. March 2 at Missouri State 2:05 p.m. March 7 at LSU 8 p.m. March 8 at LSU 7:30 p.m. March 9 at LSU 2 p.m. March 14 at San Diego State 9 p.m. March 15 at San Diego State 5 p.m. March 16 at San Diego State 4 p.m. March 17 at San Diego State 9 p.m. March 19 BUTLER 5 p.m. March 21 at Southern Illinois 2 p.m. March 22 at Southern Illinois 3 p.m. March 23 at Southern Illinois 2 p.m. March 25 IPFW 5 p.m. March 28 at Illinois 5 p.m. March 29 at Illinois 4 p.m. March 30 at Illinois 2 p.m. April 2 at Illinois-Chicago 7:05 p.m. April 4 PENN STATE 6:30 p.m. April 5 PENN STATE 2 p.m. April 6 PENN STATE 1 p.m. April 8 LOUISVILLE 5 p.m. April 11 at Michigan State 3:05 p.m. April 12 at Michigan State 1:05 p.m. April 13 at Michigan State 1:05 p.m. April 15 at Butler 3 p.m. April 18 MICHIGAN 6:30 p.m. April 19 MICHIGAN 2 p.m. April 20 MICHIGAN 1 p.m. April 22 at Indiana State 6 p.m. April 23 ILLINOIS-CHICAGO 5 p.m. April 25 OHIO STATE 6:30 p.m. April 26 OHIO STATE 2 p.m. April 27 OHIO STATE 1 p.m. April 29 at Illinois State 7 p.m. May 2 at Indiana 7:05 p.m. May 3 at Indiana 2:05 p.m. May 4 at Indiana 1:05 p.m. May 9 at Minnesota 8:35 p.m. May 10 at Minnesota 8:05 p.m. May 11 at Minnesota 2:05 p.m. May 13 INDIANA STATE 6:30 p.m. May 15 IOWA 6:30 p.m. May 16 IOWA 6:30 p.m. May 17 IOWA 2 p.m. Big Ten Tournament (Omaha, Neb.) May 21-25 TBA TBA NCAA Regionals (TBA) May 30-June 1 TBA TBA All times ET Tom Campbell The Boilermakers' success this season might hinge on their starting pitching, where (from left) Connor Podkul, Kyle Wood and Jordan Minch are expected to lock down the weekend rotation.