Purdue Personal Preferences Favorite Athlete: Justin Verlander
In His MP3 Player: Drake
Favorite Writer: Rick Reilly
Film Favorites: Actor: Jim Carrey, Actress: Megan Fox, Director: Steven Spielberg
Favorite Month: May
Favorite Holiday: Christmas
Favorite Food: Chicken Alfredo
Favorite Outdoor Activity: Golfing
Favorite Purdue Building: Stewart Center
Favorite Big City: Boston
Unique Travel Locale: Hawaii
Foreign Country He'd Most Like to Visit: France
Another Sport He Enjoys Playing: Basketball
Most Memorable Moment at Purdue: Sweeping Indiana in 2011
Enjoyed this Professor's Class: Amina Shareef, Education
Furry Friend: Buddy the Dog
Other Interests: Camping
2011 Season Second Team All-Big Ten... NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List... Wittgren pitched in a team-high 29 games, serving as the team's closer but also starting the middle game of the Tennessee Tech series... led the Big Ten in saves, finishing one shy of the Purdue single-season record... finished 24 games, the second most in the Big Ten... honored as the team's Newcomer of the Year... earned victories in relief in the middle game of the Tennessee-Martin series and opener of the Indiana series... registered at least one save weekend series action at the Big East/Big Ten Challenge and against Lipscomb, Tennessee-Martin, Michigan, Penn State, Northwestern, Illinois and Iowa... led the team in ERA (3.18) while ranking second in strikeouts (55)... issued only 10 walks in 51 innings pitched... posted a 2.36 ERA and .229 batting average as a reliever... was even better in Big Ten play, earning six saves while registering a 1.14 ERA and .217 batting average against... pitched on consecutive days five times... did not give up a home run after March 6 and gave up only two longballs total in 51 innings... allowed only eight of 29 inherited base runners to score... earned a save in six straight appearances from April 6-23... emerged as the closer with his performance against Pittsburgh at the Big East/Big Ten Challenge, striking out the first two men he faced to leave the bases loaded and closing out the game with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief... posted a win and two saves during the early-season eight-game win streak... posted a win and six saves in his nine appearances in April, compiling a 1.65 ERA and .186 batting average against in his 16 1/3 innings pitched... gave up only one hit over four innings of relief in his four appearances in midweek action... did not give up an earned run while striking out 11 in eight innings during the eight-game homestand in May... surrendered only one earned run at home in his 10 appearances, striking out 24 in 15 2/3 innings... gave up only seven singles and recorded 17 strikeouts versus one walk over 12 innings in Big Ten action at Lambert Field... did not give up an earned run in 12 2/3 innings over nine appearances in May... Big East/Big Ten Challenge (Feb. 18-20): closed out the Connecticut and Pittsburgh wins, saving the day against Pitt by retiring each of the six batters he faced... at Lipscomb (March 4-6): closed out the series finale with three innings of one-run relief... at Tennessee-Martin (March 11-13): earned the save in game one and the win in game two; left an inherited runner at second as the potential tying run in the opener and worked the final two innings of the game two comeback... at Tennessee Tech (March 18-20): struck out five and did not issue a walk over 5 1/3 innings as the starter; took the loss after giving up two runs in three straight innings in the middle of the game... Wabash (March 23): struck out the side in the sixth inning in his Lambert Field debut... at Minnesota (April 1-2): pitched the final four innings of the series finale at Target Field, giving up one earned run... at Butler (April 6): struck out the only batter he faced, who represented the potential tying run, to close out the midweek win and earn the first of six straight saves... Michigan (April 8-10): closed out the first two games of the series, striking out six over three innings while teaming up with Matt Morgan in the series-opening shutout victory (Purdue's firstshutout ofthe Wolverines since 1993); retired the only batter he faced, who represented the potential tying run, to finish off game two... at Ball State (April 12): induced a 4-6-3 ground ball double play in quick ninth inning to earn a save... at Penn State (April 15-17): teamed up with Blake Mascarello to save the day in the series-opening win, striking out four and giving up only an unearned run over 2 1/3 innings of relief... at Northwestern (April 23-24): pitched a scoreless ninth inning in the series-opening win for the last of six consecutive saves... Indiana (April 30-May 1): worked 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win in the series-opening walk-off victory; left the potential go-ahead run in scoring position in both the 10th and 12th innings... Illinois (May 13-15): struck out the only batter he faced with the potential tying run on first base to close out the series-opening win; pitched the final three innings but suffered the loss in the rubber game after a two-out error in the ninth opened the door for two unearned runs... Iowa (May 19-21): closed out the first two games of the series, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in game one to earn a save; struck out five of the seven batters he faced in game two... at Big Ten Tournament (May 25-27): closed out the Penn State win by retiring both batters he faced; worked an inning and two-thirds in the loss to Minnesota but was unable to escape an inherited first-and-third jam without the game's only run scoring... Big Ten Rankings: first in saves and second in appearances... Purdue Single-Season Rankings: second in saves, third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.50), fourth in appearances, fifth in strikeouts per nine innings (9.71) and 11th in fewest walks per nine innings... Purdue All-Time Rankings: fourth in saves.
Junior College Played his first collegiate season at Parkland College in Champaign, Ill., posting a 10-0 record with one save and 54 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings pitched ... helped Parkland finish fifth at the 2010 NJCAA Division II World Series.
High School Three year varsity letter-winner at McCutcheon High School in Lafayette, Ind. ... also played three years of varsity basketball and four years of varsity tennis ... two-time All-Hoosier Crossroads Conference as an upperclassman in both baseball and basketball ... batted .395 as a senior, .382 as a junior ... struck out 55 on the mound as a senior ... team MVP in baseball, basketball and tennis as a senior ... team rookie of the year winner as a sophomore ... helped lead McCutcheon to sectional and regional titles in 2008 and sectional crown in 2009 ... member of the 2008-09 IHSAA leadership group.
Personal Full name is Nicholas James Wittgren ... born May 29, 1991 in Torrance, Calif. ... son of Andy and Lisa Wittgren ... also has two brothers, Kyle and Jack ... both of his parents are Purdue graduates and his brother Kyle as well as uncles Mitch and Sid and aunt Taha also attended Purdue ... intends to major in mathematics education and pursue a career as a high school teacher.
