Box Score Schedule
3/26: Butler at Wabash – 4:00 PM
3/29: Butler vs. Xavier* – 2:45 PM
3/29: Butler at No. 10 Louisville – TBD
* - Played at Louisville
Projected Rotation
Thursday: LHP Peter Nyznyk vs. RHP Matt Bowman
Saturday - Game 1: LHP Jeff Schank vs. RHP Scott Klever
Saturday - Game 2: RHP Kyle Allen vs. RHP Jared Ruxer
INDIANAPOLIS – The Bulldogs will now play Wabash on Wednesday afternoon, after two schedule changes occurred due to inclement weather. Following the game against the Giants, Butler will head to Louisville to play a doubleheader on Saturday. Game one will be played vs. Xavier at 12 p.m. Game two will feature Butler playing nationally-ranked Louisville at 3:30 p.m.
Scouting Wabash (5-6)
The Giants have three everyday starters in the lineup that are batting over .300 on the year. Tyler Owensby leads the club with a .381 BA. He is followed in the category by Tyler Hampton and Trey Fankhauser.
Owensby (16-for-42) has three doubles and a triple, helping him reach a team-high 10 RBIs. Hampton is the team leader in doubles with seven and is second on the team in RBIs with nine.
Wednesday's starter is scheduled to be RHP Matt Bowman who enters the matchup with a 1-0 record that includes a 6.75 ERA. This will be Bowman's first start of the season, as he takes the hill with only 2.2 innings of work to his credit. In his two appearances, Bowman has allowed four hits and two earned runs. He has four strikeouts, but has walked three batters.
Scouting Xavier (12-10)
The Musketeers also had to change their midweek schedule this week as they now prepare to play Kentucky on Wednesday afternoon. The battle tested Musketeers have played a tough non-conference schedule, battling it out against teams such as Ohio State, Illinois, North Carolina and Indiana. Wednesday's game won't be any easier as Kentucky enters the game ranked No. 27 in the nation.
Xavier and Louisville will kick off the weekend with a game Friday night at 6 p.m. before the noon game vs. Butler on Saturday. Sunday will end the series as the Musketeers and Cardinals meet again at 1 p.m.
Derek Hasenbeck and Tres Eberhardt have been the top offensive weapons in the lineup for Xavier. Hasenbeck leads the club with a .340 BA (32-for-94) and three home runs. He is second on the team with 14 RBIs and a .457 slugging percentage. Eberhardt heads into Wednesday with a .304 batting average which includes a .409 on-base percentage with his team-high 12 walks.
Saturday's starter has not yet been announced for Xavier, but some of the top arms on the team include Vinny Nittoli, Adam Hall, Scott Klever, and Brad Kirschner. Nittoli is off to a 3-1 start on the hill with a 1.20 ERA. He has tossed 30 innings and is leading the team with 22 strikeouts. Hall and Klever also have three wins on the bump for Xavier. Each player has made six starts and has thrown over 30 innings of action. Xavier's save leader, Kirschner, has made 11 appearances on the mound and has 12 strikeouts in just 18.2 innings.
Scouting No. 10 Louisville (17-6)
The nationally-ranked Cardinals will face Western Kentucky on Wednesday before hosting both Xavier and Butler this weekend. Louisville is yet another team that was forced to change the schedule due to weather as their upcoming game at Western Kentucky was originally slated for Tuesday.
Josh Rogers will take the hill vs. Western Kentucky, but a projected starter for the Butler game has not yet been announced. The Cardinals will head to Bowling Green, Ky. with a 17-6 overall record after winning two of three last weekend against Rutgers.
Saturday's game will be a tough match up for Butler as the Cardinals return 19 letterwinners from last year's College World Series team. Louisville is ranked in all five major polls and they were tabbed as American Athletic Conference Preseason Favorites.
Preseason All-American Athletic Conference choices included Nick Burdi, Kyle Funkhouser, Anthony Kidston, Cole Sturgeon, Sutton Whiting and Preseason Player of the Year Jeff Gardner.
BIG EAST Teams Receiving Votes
Creighton (11-6-1) and Seton Hall (15-4) are receiving votes in the latest NCBWA Poll (March 24).
Butler National Rankings
Games Started: 13th, Eric Stout (6)
Base on Balls Per Game: 36th, Nick Bartolone (0.83)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio: 81st, Jeff Schank (5.40)
Saves: 94th, Billy Laing (3)
Strikeouts Per Nine Innings: 98th, Eric Stout (9.10)
Up Next
The month of April will begin with a single road game at IPFW on Tuesday, April 1. Butler will move forward to host Seton Hall in the BIG EAST home opener that weekend, April 4-6. First pitch for game one has been scheduled for 3 p.m. at Bulldog Park.
