Weekend Schedule (EST)
2/24: Butler at Alcorn State – 2:00 PM | Live Stats
2/25: Butler at Alcorn State (DH) – 1:00 PM | Live Stats
2/26: Butler at Alcorn State – 12:30 PM | Live Stats
 
Projected Starters
Friday: LHP Jeff Schank vs. RHP Jahborus Smith
Saturday: RHP Ryan Pepiot vs. RHP Regynold Johnson
Saturday: LHP Connor Mitchell vs. RHP Austin Willis-Greene
Sunday: RHP Quentin Miller vs. RHP Daniel Belmont
 
INDIANAPOLIS – Butler will take their 3-1 overall record into a four-game weekend series against Alcorn State. Single games are lined up for Friday and Sunday with a doubleheader on the schedule for Saturday.

BIG EAST Standings
1) St. John's 3-0
2) Butler 3-1
3) Xavier 2-2
4) Seton Hall 2-2
5) Georgetown 1-2
6) Villanova 0-3
7) Creighton 0-3

BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Gehrig Parker, Butler, Jr., OF (Park Ridge, Ill.)
Posted a .417 average (5-for-12) in a 3-1 weekend for the Bulldogs with five hits, five RBI, two doubles and a walk. He also added two runs scored.

On the Mound
Butler will throw Jeff Schank on Friday against the Braves. The left-hander tossed five complete innings in his season debut against La Salle to post a 1.80 ERA. Schank only allowed two hits and struck out eight. He left the game with no decision.
 
The first arm on the hill for Butler in the doubleheader is slated to be freshman Ryan Pepiot. The right-hander struck out nine batters in his BU debut to pick up a win after five full innings. Game two on Saturday will belong to Connor Mitchell, a right-hander that struck out six batters in five innings of work in his debut.
 
The Bulldogs will hand the ball to Quentin Miller on Sunday afternoon. The contest will mark the first action of the season for the sophomore right-hander. A year ago Miller made six starts to post a 4.14 ERA. He recorded 20 strikeouts in 37 innings of work.
 
Pepiot Shines in Debut
Freshman Ryan Pepiot struck out nine batters in his BU debut against Ohio. Nine strikeouts in a single-game ties last year's season-high total which was recorded by both Jeff Schank and Danny Pobereyko. Schank struck out nine Hoyas on April 24 against Georgetown and Pobereyko came out of the bullpen to struck out nine against Bradley on March 27. Pepiot currently leads the BIG EAST in strikeouts (9) while Schank ranks second (8). As a team, Butler leads the conference with 42 total K's.
 
Hitting Streaks
Gehrig Parker and Jordan Lucio recorded a hit in all four games over opening weekend. Last year's longest hitting streak of the year belonged to Michael Hartnagel who picked up a hit in 20-straight games. The second longest streak belonged to Tyler Houston who recorded a hit in 12-straight contests.
 
Off and Running
The Bulldogs lead the conference in stolen bases after opening weekend. Chris Maranto is 3-3 on the year and Tyler Houston is 2-for-2. Cole Malloy also has a stolen base this year to push the team's total to six.
 
By Any Means
Butler hit .265 as a team last weekend but posted a .386 on-base percentage. The Bulldogs were patient at the plate and earned a base on balls 19 times. Inside pitches also helped the cause. Butler had seven players hit by a pitch over their first four games of the year.
 
Just Win Baby
The Bulldogs opened the 2017 season in South Carolina with three consecutive wins over LaSalle and Ohio. The sole loss of the weekend was 4-0 deficit against Ohio. The last time Butler recorded a 3-1 start to the regular season was in 2007. The team swept a three-game series at Morehead State then dropped the fourth game against Evansville. Last year, the Bulldogs were wineless after the first four games of the season.
 
Hot Opening Weekend
The Bulldogs' 15-4 win and 12 RBIs tallied against Ohio on Feb. 18 matched last season's season-high total of runs scored and RBIs. The team scored 15 runs and reached 12 RBIs last March against Marian. Defensively, the pitching staff threw 14 strikeouts against LaSalle on Feb. 17, one more than last year's season-high strikeout total reached against Marion in March.
 
BIG EAST Home Run Leader
The Bulldogs closed out the weekend with four home runs to lead the BIG EAST early in the season. Xavier and St. John's follow with three home runs each. Tyler Houston produced the first Butler home run of the season against Ohio while Michael DiViesti, Chris Maranto and Duncan Hewitt produced three home runs in the 6-5 win over LaSalle on Feb. 19.
 
Scouting Alcorn State
Junior Jahborus Smith will be taking the pitcher's mound for Alcorn State on Friday when they host the Bulldogs. Last season, Smith started four games and made 24 appearances. He pitched 50.1 innings and recorded 47 strikeouts. The right-hander is 0-2 this year with a 9.00 ERA.
 
Redshirt-sophomore Regynold Johnson will be pitching game one of the doubleheader on Saturday. Johnson started 11 out of his 19 appearances last season. He pitched 47.2 innings and struck out 30.  So far this season, Johnson has four strikeouts, three walks and has allowed four hits during his four innings of work.
 
Senior Austin Willis-Greene will be stepping on the mound for the second game on Saturday. Greene has five strikeouts so far this season in just 5.1 innings pitched.
 
Redshirt-junior Daniel Belmont will close out the weekend when he takes the mound on Sunday. The right-hander tossed 5.2 innings last weekend and struck out three. He gave up four extra-base hits, yet the opposition only hit .231 against him.
 
The Braves are coming off a 2016 season where they posted a 16-36 overall record. They are 2-2 this year with wins over Prairie View A&M and Southern University. Setbacks came against Grambling State and Murray State.
 
Highlighting the team offensively is junior Kirt Cormier. Cormier hit .571 over the first four games of the season with a double and a home run. He recorded eight hits in just 14 at-bats and came around to score five runs.