Park Tudor grad brings thunder as leader of Purdue baseball turnaround
CJ Richmond didn't think he'd have another college season left, but he's proven he belongs at Purdue with his towering home runs that travel.
WEST LAFAYETTE — CJ Richmond brings more power than speed to Purdue baseball , but with one vicious swing in February, he provided both. With the Boilermakers down 5-0 to Baylor at the Round Rock Classic, Richmond turned on a 2-1 pitch with indignity. The three-run home run cleared the wall in only a couple of seconds, but resonated deep into the season.
“It didn't even seem like it got up over the fence line, and it hit the rafters that were like 50 feet behind right-center field,” said Sam Flores, whose 10 home runs tie Richmond for the team lead. “I was like, that's just unreal. That's just unreal juice.
” Purdue rallied to win 6-5 that day, then beat No. 11 Oregon State a day later. It carried that momentum into Big Ten Conference play, winning six straight series at one point.
Richmond takes quick trips around the bases, but took a long route to end up a Boilermaker. He needed a fortunate turn of events after an unlucky break to even be at the plate this season. Now he brings middle-of-the-order thunder to one of the country's best turnaround stories.
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