Live Stats
INDIANAPOLIS – The red-hot Butler baseball team will travel up I-69 to face the Ball State Cardinals on Tuesday afternoon. Winners of 10 of their last 11 games, Butler will look to improve on their 16-7 overall record.
Midweek Matchup (EST)
3/28: Butler at Ball State – 3 PM
Projected Starters
Tuesday: TBD vs. RHP Brendan Burns
Scouting Ball State
The Cardinals are 11-13 overall with a 2-4 record on their home diamond. A challenging non-conference slate featured BSU playing #22 Maryland, #6 Louisville, #18 Coastal Carolina and most recently a four-game series at #4 Oregon State.
Ball State won their first two home games of the 2017 season by sweeping a Saturday doubleheader against Dayton. They have lost four-straight at home with a single setback vs. Purdue followed by three-straight conference losses to MAC foe Kent State.
Sean Kennedy and Roman Baisa are two everyday starters that lead BSU in batting average. Each player has 25 hits on the season. Kennedy has two home runs on the year to give the Cards some power while Baisa is near the team lead in steals with five.
Ball State will throw right-handed pitcher Brendan Burns on Tuesday. Burns is 1-0 on the year with a 2.61 ERA. Tuesday will mark his first start of the season which will likely result in a staff day for the Cardinals. The team posts a 3.53 team ERA and has the opposition batting .254.
Muncie Forecast
The tarp will most likely be on the field tonight (3/27) as Muncie's forecast calls for rain this evening. Skies should clear up by tomorrow with just a 20 percent chance of rain. Temps will close in on 60 degrees for first pitch at 3 PM.
Hitting Streaks
Michael Hartnagel heads into the Ball State game on a six-game hitting streak. The longest hitting streak of the year was stopped last week.
Garrett Christman provided Butler with a hit in eight-straight games, a streak that started at Furman on March 8.
Reached Base Steak
Three Bulldogs have reached base safely in 11-straight games, however
Michael Hartnagel is the only one to hold an active streak.
Garrett Christman just saw his streak snapped last week,
Gehrig Parker started the year with a lengthy streak.
5-for-5
Michael Hartnagel went 5-for-5 at Furman with three RBI and a run scored. It marked the second time in Hartnagel's career where he recorded five hits in a single game. Last year he recorded five hits at St. John's on May 8. The school record for most hits in a single game is six, held by Kyle Waggoner who played for BU during the 2010 season.
5-for-5 X2
Tyler Houston went 5-for-5 with three home runs, three runs scored and a season-high six RBI's at Ohio in a 7-6 Bulldog victory. Houston set the school record with 14 total bases and tied the school record for most home runs recorded in a single game.
Team National Rankings
Stat, Ranking (Value)
Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings, 15th (7.24)
Earned Run Average, 27th (3.15)
Strikeouts Per Nine Innings, 32nd (9.3)**
WHIP, 43rd (1.26)
Fielding Percentage, 64th (0.974)
Individual National Rankings
Player; Stat, Ranking (Value)
Chris Myjak; Saves, 10th (7)**
Ryan Pepiot; Strikeouts Per Nine Innings, 10th (13.35)**
Jeff Schank; Earned Run Average, 12th (0.88)
Jeff Schank; Strikeouts, 17th (51)**
Tyler Houston; Stolen Bases, 30th (11)**
Michael Hartnagel; Doubles, 33rd (10)**
Michael Hartnagel; Batting Average, 36th (.410)
Tyler Houston; Home Runs, 58th (6)**
** - Leads BIG EAST Conference
Up Next
Chicago State will host both Butler and Eastern Michigan this weekend with BU playing a doubleheader against each team on Saturday, April 1. Sunday will feature Butler and Eastern Michigan playing again at 11 AM.
