WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Bulldogs are 2-0 at the start of the 2018 season after defeating UNCW 6-2 on Saturday afternoon.
Gehrig Parker led Butler with a 2-for-4 day from the plate. He recorded an RBI double in the first and a lead-off homer in the fourth.
Parker,
Michael Hartnagel and
Garrett Christman would all end the day with an RBI to help spark the BU offense. Christman was a dual weapon today as he also tossed six full innings on the mound. The right-hander limited the Seahawks to just three hits, two of which would leave the park in the bottom of the fifth. Christman still earned the win on the bump after striking out seven Seahawks.
The BU bullpen was impressive again today as
John MacCauley,
Kevin Napoleon and
Jack Pilcher combined for three shutout innings of baseball. The trio only allowed two hits over the final three frames to seal the victory.
Scoring opened up in the top of the first inning with
Tyler Houston and
Gehrig Parker coming up with back-to-back doubles. Houston doubled to right with one away and Parker would follow with a ball to right center to get the lead.
Parker made the game 2-0 in the top of the fourth with his first home run of the year. Christman would come around in the order to help his own cause and poke a single through the right side of the infield for an RBI.
The Butler lead would grow to 4-0 in the fifth with
Zach Jarosz scoring an unearned run. UNCW would avoid the shutout in the bottom half of the inning with two solo home runs. Berne homered to left to lead off the fifth and Jones would send a two-out shot over the wall in right to make the game 4-2.
The Bulldogs would strike again in the seventh to give the bullpen a cushion. The first two batters of the inning reached base and Parker would lay down a sac bunt after a pitching change. Hartnagel's ground out to second base would score Jarosz and allow Houston to advance. Houston would come around to score during
Connor Dall's at-bat off a wild pitch.
Butler will try to remain undefeated this afternoon with a 6 PM contest vs. Lehigh.
