INDIANAPOLIS - Senior right-hander Dom Silvestri threw 7.2 solid innings in a game one victory but Cleveland State game up with game two as the Butler baseball team split a Saturday doubleheader at Bulldog Park. Butler won the first game, 7-2, before dropping a 9-1 score in the nightcap.
Silvestri (5-3) continued his solid season by pitching into the 8th inning, scattering seven hits and allowing just two runs. He struck out two and walked four. He got the first three Vikings in order in the top of the 1st before giving up a run in the 2nd inning. He then cruised throught the next four innings with just one hit allowed before finding trouble in the top of the 7th. CSU started the inning with a single and a walk. Steve Mahler had an RBI double for the CSU's second run.
The middle of the Bulldog lineup led the offensive attack. Senior Michael Letzter went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs while junior Mike Hoscheit went 2-for-4 with a homer and a triple. Freshman Patrick Guinane went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Silvestri's outing was supported by three big innings early in the game by Butler. Hoscheit led off the 2nd inning with a triple and he would score moments later on a Guinane single. A single by senior Corey Moylan would score Guinane to put Butler ahead 2-0.
In the bottom of the 3rd, Letzter smacked a one-out double before Hoscheit pulled a ball over the left field wall. It was his first home run.
Leading 4-0, the Dawgs added three more in the 4th inning to take a 7-1 lead. Letzter had an RBI single and scored and Guinane had a sac fly. Senior Grant Fillipitch and sophomore Andrew Eckhardt each walked and scored in the inning.
Junior Brian Padove got the last four outs in relief, facing the minimum.
Cleveland State (10-35) quickly wrested momentum from the Bulldogs from the very start of the second game. The first two batters of the game doubled and CSU quickly would lead 2-0. Cleveland State led 3-0 late in the game, the Vikings plated six runs in the final two innings to pull away from the Bulldogs.
Seven different BU players had one hit to account for Butler's offense. Butler's lone run came when Guinane walked and scored on an RBI single by sophomore Pat Gelwicks in the bottom of the 7th inning.
The story of the second game was Cleveland State's Coty Bates. The Viking pitcher pitched 7.0 innings, striking out 10 and walking just one. He kept Butler off balance with a steady diet of off-speed pitches. He allowed one run on six hits. CSU was led offensively by Tom Carter with a 4-for 5 effort. Carter scored three runs and drove in two. Alex Johnson homered and had three RBIs and Tyler Wynn went 3-for-5.
Butler and Cleveland State will conclude their three-game league series Sunday, May 8 at noon. Butler will start Mike Hernandez while CSU will counter with Nate Dick. It will be the final time Butler and Cleveland State will face as baseball opponents, as Cleveland State University has decided to end its varsity baseball program effective June 30, 2011.
