INDIANAPOLIS – The Butler baseball team will open the 2019 season this weekend with a three-game series against Rider. The two clubs will come together on a neutral field in Lexington S.C. The first game will take place on Friday, Feb. 15 at 7 PM.
"I think it starts on the mound for us in 2019," Head Coach
Dave Schrage stated. "We have some high impact guys in this area that are returning and it starts with
Ryan Pepiot. He was an all-conference player for us as a sophomore and is a unanimous selection to the 2019 BIG EAST Preseason Team."
Pepiot is penciled in as the Friday starter for the Bulldogs in 2019. He is coming off a fantastic 2018 season that included six wins on the mound and 101 strikeouts. Pepiot held a 2.62 ERA during the regular season. That ERA dropped to 1.67 against BIG EAST competition.
"Pepiot will get a lot of attention this year, but I'm confident that he can deal with it and have another great year for us," Schrage added. Pepiot became just the second player in program history to end a season with a 6-0 record on the mound. The first Bulldog to do it was Tom Ehrsam back in 1958.
Schrage will throw senior
Sam Hubbe on Saturday's this year. Hubbe made eight starts a year ago. He went 1-2 on the mound over 15 total appearances. Schrage sees Hubbe as an experienced arm in the rotation that is a great competitor on the mound.
"Hubbe threw the ball very well for us this fall and he is an upperclassman that we will rely on," Schrage stated. "He has a really good slider and is a solid option for us on Saturday's."
The game ball will go to
Connor Schultz on Sunday's. Schultz went 3-2 last year with a 4.46 ERA. He made 16 total appearances, but only had one start. The right-hander is a sophomore that struck out 35 batters in 36 innings during his rookie campaign.
"Schultz improved his velocity over the off-season and really worked on improving his changeup," Schrage said. "He threw mid-relief for us as a freshman and had some really nice appearances for us in league play."
For midweek action, Schrage will go with
Joe Graziano as the BU starter. Graziano went 3-0 on the mound as a freshman with 17 strikeouts in 23 innings.
"Graziano will return to his role as our midweek starter," Schrage explained. "His release makes life difficult for left-handed hitters and he improved his fastball over the off-season to the 88-89 range."
The bullpen has good depth this season with a number of student-athletes improving over the fall and into spring practice. Schrage has three players on his mind for the setup role. That group includes
Greg Gilbert,
Quentin Miller and
Kevin Napoleon.
"Gilbert is unique in that he will play a lot of third base for us during the year, but we still like him as a bullpen option," Schrage said. "He can enter the game and help us in the seven or eighth inning. Miller will see more time on the mound in 2019. He came in last year to clean up innings, but we think he will extend that role in 2019. We also like Napoleon out of the bullpen as our lefty specialist."
Butler will welcome back closer
Jack Pilcher for the 2019 campaign. Pilcher tied the school saves record last year with 10. He made 20 total appearances, throwing 19.2 innings. Pilcher held a 2.75 ERA and recorded 28 strikeouts.
"It's great to have Pilcher at the back end of our bullpen again for the 2019 season," Schrage said. "He has a low 90's fastball to go along with a swing-and-miss slider."
Pitching Coach
Ben Norton helped the Bulldogs set a new school record in 2018 for the most team strikeouts recorded in a single-season. The 'Dawgs ended the year with 454 strikeouts, highlighted by Pepiot's 101.
Weekend Rotation
Friday Starter – RHP
Ryan Pepiot
Saturday Starter – RHP
Sam Hubbe
Sunday Starter – RHP
Connor Schultz
Midweek Starter
LHP -
Joe Graziano
Setup
RHP -
Greg Gilbert
RHP -
Quentin Miller
LHP -
Kevin Napoleon
Closer
RHP -
Jack Pilcher
Additional LHP
JT Turley,
Nick Eaton,
Ryan Schmit
Additional RHP
John MacCauley,
Benji Downs,
Derek Drees,
Alex Voss,
Jack Myers,
Austin Waeghe
Injured
RHP -
Grant Hurn
