Thousands of miles from home, Purdue's Connor Caskenette, Jo Stevens bonded by baseball

WEST LAFAYETTE — Connor Caskenette clobbered a moon shot off the Purdue baseball video board during the first inning Wednesday night.

Not to be outdone, Jo Stevens promptly parked one over the fence, too.

It was the third straight game both have homered.

"He hit the home run and I said, I've got to keep you in line, so I've got to hit one back," Stevens said after a 15-0 victory over DePauw in front of an Alexander Field record 2,569 fans.

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It's something special, this Purdue baseball team, winners of 14 of the last 17 games entering a monumental three-game series against rival Indiana at Friday, where the attendance record likely falls again.

Also special is the unique friendship between Stevens and Caskenette, roommates who bicker like brothers and bond over both being thousands of miles from home.

"I'll give him crap and he'll give the same to me," Caskenette said. "It's a really neat bond and it's obviously really nice to have someone that close on a team where you're 3,000 miles from home."

Stevens is Australian and more than 9,000 miles from his Mount Colah home. His mother is Japanese, which he says is where his baseball passion derives from. When deciding between playing pro baseball or going to college, Stevens wound up at Cal State Bakersfield in the fall of 2021 before transferring to Yavapai, a junior college in Prescott, Ariz. and last year showing up to his third school in as many years at Purdue.

Caskenette, the Big Ten Player of the Week after hitting .467 with three home runs and 11 RBI last week, a Canadian from Duncan, British Columbia, outside of Vancouver and almost 2,500 miles from West Lafayette. The Boilermaker catcher planned to go to school in Louisiana but COVID ended up halting those plans. He played two seasons at Cochise Junior College outside of Tucson, Ariz. before arriving at Purdue last year.

They both arrived in West Lafayette last year hoping to change the Purdue baseball culture, which was why last season's 24-29 record was so disappointing. But they stuck to the process and became leaders for a team currently 30-15.

"Their relationship is so unique being from two different places," Purdue baseball coach Greg Goff said. "Baseball brought them together like that and they'll be friends forever. It's pretty awesome."

Sometimes in their apartment, it's a relaxing movie night, but it also serves as a safe haven to discuss baseball.

What's working at the plate. What isn't.

"We're always in the cages getting the work in," Stevens said. "The way he's swinging it right now, something I've always expected of him.

"Whenever it comes to hitting, we always talk. It's definitely rubbed off on both of us."

Right now, for Stevens and Caskenette, everything seems to be working.

Both have driven in runs in five straight games and each has hit four home runs in the last three games. Caskenette's three-run homer against DePauw tied him with redshirt freshman teammate Luke Gaffney for the team lead.

"It's not said a lot, but all of us are going up there trying to beat the other guy," Caskenette said. "It's really funny. It keeps us loose, you know. You're not putting too much pressure on yourself, but at the same time, you've got guys on your own side you're competing against, so it keeps that edge there."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Thousands of miles from home, Purdue's Connor Caskenette, Jo Stevens bonded by baseball