GAME NOTES
 
INDIANAPOILS – Butler will play a three-game series at Villanova this weekend. Game one of the series is slated for 3 PM on Friday afternoon. Games two and three each feature 1 PM start times.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Michael Hartnagel has reached base safely in 27-straight games
- Connor Mitchell is one of only four BIG EAST pitchers with more than 50 strikeouts
- Ryan Pepiot picked up the first save of his collegiate career on Wednesday
- Andy Bennett recorded the game-winning hit vs. Morehead State in the Bot of 8
- Connor Christman hit a triple vs. the Eagles giving BU 15 triples this season
- Butler is 7-5 vs. Villanova since joining the BIG EAST in 2014
- Pepiot struck out 11 batters in eight full innings of action last year vs. Villanova
- Garrett Christman shutout Nova a year ago by striking out nine batters in 8.1 innings
- Pepiot and Christman combined only walked one batter last year
- Butler moved up seven spots to 93 in the most recent RPI rankings (April 11)
- BU (93), St. John's (82), Seton Hall (59), and Creighton (17) rank in the RPI top 100
- BU leads the BIG EAST in doubles, triples and on-base percentage (.378)
- Tyler Houston leads the conference with 44 hits
- Houston is also the conference leader in doubles (13) and total bases (69)
 
BIG EAST Standings
St. John's 3-0, 18-10
Georgetown 2-1, 9-20
Creighton 1-1, 20-7
Butler 1-1, 20-8
Xavier 1-2, 11-21
Seton Hall 0-0, 12-12-1
Villanova 0-3, 5-19
 
Scouting Villanova
The Wildcats were swept by St. John's last weekend on their home diamond. They lost 6-1 on Friday, 8-2 on Saturday and 6-3 on Sunday. The team returned to action with a pair of midweek games against Saint Joseph's. They lost the first contest at home, but won the following day on the road to improve their record to 6-19. The top player in the Nova lineup is first baseman Ryan Toohers. The 6-5 sophomore is batting .315 on the year with eight doubles and 14 RBI. David Gulati leads the team with nine doubles and John Heilenbach has pulled even in the RBI category with Toohers. Weekend arms for Villanova have changed throughout the season. The 'Dawgs will undoubtedly face Ryan Doty this weekend, a 6-1 senior with the best numbers on the staff. Doty has 46 strikeouts in 47.2 innings of action. He is 2-5 on the year, but holds a 3.21 ERA. Jimmy Kingsbury and Jonathan Rosero are each 0-4 on the year with ERA's resting near 5.00. Ryan Pfutzenreuter made the jump into the weekend rotation against St. John's. He is 0-2 with a 3.10 ERA.
 
Familiar Foes
James Gargano and Austin Waeghe of Butler are from the same hometown as Villanova's Cole Channell. Gargano and Waeghe each attended Neuqua Valley H.S., but Channell graduated from Benet Academy. The two schools are located less than 10 miles away in Naperville, Illinois a suburb of Chicago.
 
Houston Eyes History This Weekend
Tyler Houston will attempt to make Butler baseball history this weekend during the three-game series at Villanova. The BIG EAST Preseason Co-Player of the Year has scored 149 runs during his BU career, just one shy of tying the school record. The currently belongs to Dale Mueller who attended Butler from 2002-05. Mueller scored 150 runs during his standout career.
 
Midweek Recap
Butler went 2-0 earlier this week with wins over Fort Wayne and Morehead State.
 
Head Coach Dave Schrage
Butler head coach Dave Schrage has 51 wins in just his second year as a Bulldog. No other baseball coach in Butler history was able to notch 50+ wins in their first two years at the helm. Steve Farley won 45 games his first two years and Scott Neat was credited with 35 victories.
 
Houston Lands on BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Houston helped BU split a two-game weekend series with Creighton as he hit .625 (5-of-8) with a home run, two RBI (one in each game), a walk and a stolen base.
 
Up Next
Butler will play a single game at Eastern Illinois on Tuesday, April 17. The weekend series will go down as the conference home opener as BU hosts Seton Hall for a three-game series. Game one will be on Friday afternoon with a 4 PM start.