LEXINGTON, S.C. – The Butler baseball team moved to 2-1 on the season over opening weekend by sweeping Rider in a Saturday doubleheader. BU played as the visitor in the first game and came up with a 14-3 victory. Game two ended in a similar fashion with Butler posting a 9-2 win.
 
Kyle Smith was a monster in game one, going 3-for-4 from the dish with three runs scored and five RBI. His homer in the third gave BU a lead and the Bulldogs would score at least one run over the final four innings to reach the 14-3 final.
 
Smith will be up for BIG EAST Player of the Week honors after batting .545 against Rider in the three-game series. His BU career got off to a fast start with six total hits, six RBI and seven runs scored. He already has one double, one triple and two home runs over the first three games of the season.
 
Harrison Freed, Andy Bennett and Greg Gilbert would also impact the final score in game one. Freed went 2-for-6 with two home runs and three RBI. Bennett connected on two of his three at-bats for two RBI and Gilbert matched his effort with a multi-RBI game.
 
Smith and Freed hit back-to-back homers in the third. Smith's second round-tripper came in the sixth while Freed waited to hit his in the eighth as part of a five-run inning.
 
Butler used 17 total hits to record their 14 runs in the first game and that momentum would carry over into game two.
 
Rider would once again take an early lead in that contest, but the Bulldogs countered with nine runs off 15 hits to get the sweep. BU scored at least one run in every inning but the first two.
 
Freed led the team with three RBI. He was one of six BU student-athletes to record more than one hit in the contest. Greg Gilbert was the hit leader with three.
 
Rider pushed two across in the first, but Butler would come around and tie it up in the fourth. The fifth inning separated the two clubs with Butler adding on four runs.
 
The frame started off with a Rider pitching change and the Bulldog bats would jump all over the new arm. Freed led that charge with a two-run home run to give BU the lead. James Gargano would also come up with an extra base hit with his first triple of the 2019 season.
 
The win went to Connor Schultz who tossed five full innings for BU allowing just two earned runs off seven hits. He struck out seven and handed the ball off to Jack Myers who did a great job over the next three innings. Myers only allowed one hit and struck out five. Closer Jack Pilcher would but the Broncs away in the ninth.
 
Your game one winner was senior Sam Hubbe. He also tossed five full to get his first win of the 2019 campaign. Hubbe struck out six and only walked one. The relief effort was split between Quentin Miller, Joe Graziano and John MacCauley.
 
Butler's next opponent will be Rutgers on Friday, Feb. 22. They will face three different teams down in New Orleans including Chicago State and the host Privateers.