GAME NOTES
INDIANAPOLIS – Butler will play at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday night at 6 PM. Right-handed pitcher
John MacCauley will take the mound for Butler against left-handed pitcher Scott Granzotto of Eastern Michigan.
Bulldog Bits
- Butler and Eastern Michigan split a two-game series in 2017 (W, 6-2 / L, 4-0)
- Butler is 4-2 against MAC opponents this season
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John MacCauley will make the first start of his collegiate career on Tuesday night
- MacCauley's longest outing of the year was two full innings vs. Indiana State
- Butler is just three wins away from tying the all-time school record
- Butler won the weekend series vs. (2-1) Georgetown for the third-straight season
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Gehrig Parker hit .538 last week and scored a team-high seven runs
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Duncan Hewitt hit .500 last week and recorded two doubles
- Freed led BU with 7 RBI last week; he had two homers including a grand slam
- All nine starters recorded at least one RBI for BU last week
- Schultz recorded his first BIG EAST win last week with 4.1 innings out of the pen
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Jack Pilcher is just two saves away from tying the BU school record
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Zach Jarosz has reached base safely in 12-straight games
- Brotherly Love: Nick and Nate Jones are brothers; Garrett and Connor Chirstman
BIG EAST Standings
1) St. John's 13-2, 34-12
2) Seton Hall 11-4, 25-18-1
3) Butler 8-6, 31-16
4) Georgetown 8-7, 24-26
5) Creighton 8-9, 31-15
6) Xavier 5-10, 17-34
7) Villanova 0-15, 8-36
Scouting Eastern Michigan
The Eagles are 20-30 overall after going 1-2 at Kent State over the weekend. Shortstop Max Schuemann is a player to keep an eye on in the matchup. Schuemann is the only Eagle to start in all 50 games. He is batting .309 with 14 doubles and four home runs. He leads the team in runs scored (40), total bases (89) and in stolen bases (23). Other players looking to impact the game include Kolton Schenker and Zach Owings. Schenker is the team leader in home runs (6) and RBIs (31). Owings holds the top average on the club at .358. He has 11 doubles, two triples and five home runs on the year.
Pepiot Lands on BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Ryan Pepiot struck out a career-high 12 batters in a 3-0 win over Georgetown on Saturday to help the Bulldogs win the series and get one step closer to a tournament berth. Pepiot went 8.0 innings, allowed just three hits on 120 pitches and walked just two.
31 Wins
Butler matched their win total from last year by taking two of three from Georgetown over the weekend. The last time BU posted 30-plus wins in back-to-back seasons was 2002-03. That group set a school record 34 wins in a single season.
Strike Three, You're Out
Butler broke the single-season strikeout record last year with 405. The 2018 team now has 395 strikeouts with at least four games remaining on the schedule.
BIG EAST Tournament Talk
Butler heads into the weekend as the third-best team in the conference standings. However, three teams are currently tied with eight BIG EAST wins. Butler holds the best winning percentage of the three tied teams at 8-6 (.571). Georgetown follows at 8-7 (.533) and Creighton is holding on at 8-9 (.471). The Bluejays do not have any conference games remaining on their schedule meaning Butler and Georgetown are both one win away from clinching a tournament berth. Butler will play at St. John's and Georgetown will host Seton Hall. Both St. John's and Seton Hall have clinched postseason spots. Only the top four teams in the BIG EAST standings makeup the tournament field.
BIG EAST Rankings
Butler has the second-highest batting average in the BIG EAST at .275. Their 3.81 team ERA is also the second-best in the BIG EAST.
Up Next
Butler will end the regular season at St. John's. The three-game series will be played May 17-19 at Jack Kaiser Stadium. Fans can follow the action on multiple platforms. Thursday's game will stream on ESPN 3. Friday's game will air on the CBS Sports Network and the Saturday finale will stream on BEDN.
