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78 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 4 f to you." Purdue's lineup last season was too inconsistent, and struck out far too often — once per 5.4 at-bats — limiting the Boilers to only a .256 team batting average, last in the Big Ten, and 5.2 runs per game. But a year older might mark significant improvement. McHugh, who hit team-highs of .298 and 31 RBI last sea- son, will anchor the middle of the order with Wood, who also plays first base, and center field Kyle Johnson. The lat- ter two were also on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in '12. Purdue needs Brandon Kreig, who will play shortstop full-time this season, to develop into a reliable hitter at the top of the order; he showed flashes last season but couldn't get on base enough to be effective. "When we put him in the leadoff spot for about two weeks, it was electric," Schreiber said of Kreig, who hit .227 with eight steals. "And then he struggled a little bit with putting the ball in play consistently. He finished pretty strong. We're going to put him in that leadoff spot and live with him a little bit. Maybe not your prototypical leadoff guy, but he does bring speed." Sophomore Cody Strong, who locked down second base midway through last season, will likely bat near the top of the order, helping to set the table for McHugh and Co. Sophomore Jack Picchiotti will catch when McHugh isn't, while freshmen Ted Snidanko, Jordan Lewis and Jeff Evak could start in the corner outfield spots. And senior utility man Connor Hudnall will DH and play several spots in the field, as well as be counted on as a major run-producer. "I feel like it's getting closer to that 2012 lineup," McHugh said of the group led by Kevin Plawecki and Cameron Perkins. "In 2012, there really wasn't anybody to pitch around, 1 through 9. … You have a strong core of guys in the middle of the lineup, so it will be harder to pitch around some of the guys." Considering their struggles of a year ago, expectations, at least those from the outside, aren't high on this Boiler- maker squad. Perfect Game USA picks Purdue to finish eighth in the Big Ten, just sneaking in to the now eight-team conference tournament. The Big Ten preseason coaches poll does not list Purdue among its top six, with Indiana, ranked as high as third nationally, as the pick to repeat as league champs. But Purdue will get a chance to see where it stacks up early this season, with a non-conference slate that in- cludes Tennessee, Rice, Missouri State, LSU and San Di- ego State, some of the best programs in the country. The Boilermakers started roughly, losing three to the Volun- teers to open the season in mid-February. "I think we're going to learn whether we're able to fight," McHugh said. "Those are good southern teams that have been able to be outside. It's about being resilient and even if we get knocked down one game being able to come back the next, no matter the score or what the game is like. Of course, we'd like to knock off some of those south- ern teams and show them a northern team can play with them, but keeping that competitive edge is critical no mat- ter what the result of the game before." j Purdue Pride We're proud to be Illinois' largest HVAC contractor and to have 34 outstanding Purdue alumni on our HVAC/Plumbing team. DIGITAL REALTY DATA CENTER Hill is the mechanical contractor for construction and installation of a pre- fabricated cooling plant that supports the adjacent data center in Franklin Park, IL. The modular design accelerates the building schedule and minimizes costs. THE HILL GROUP hillgrp.com Warren Hill, ME '63 Jim Hill, MET '95, MBA '03 Jim Billard, LA '90 Brian Teyema, ME '87 Scott Dierking, IM '77 Russ Nelson, BCM '00 David Pikey, PH '97 Angela Billard, ED '90 Bill Silfies, MBA '03 Nick Muscolino, MET '06 Matthew Crawford, MET '05 Bob Hill, BCM '06 Ryan Stojkovich, BS '97 Mike Ivanovic, AS '81 Anthony Borgnini, ME '07 Anthony Camasta, MET '04 Beth Beigelbeck, SM '97 Deborah Toth, MET '07 Daniel Block, ME '08 Daniel Gasser, BS '04 Jason Jones, MET '08 Nick Johnson, BCM '09 Bryan O'Neill, BCM '09 Steven Sitkowski, BCM '10 Chris Summers, ME '10 Isaac Townsend, ME '10 Don Wunderlich, ME '13 Chris Gushurst, BCM '11 Taylor Spaulding, ME '12 Grant Fillipitch, MET '12 Jessica James, BS '13 Robert C Krier, MET '13 Joseph Ketcik, CE '13 Joseph Schraffenberger ME '13 G&B_GLOSSY_2013_HillGrp_finalQ6 8/13/13 2:57 PM Page 1