VALPARAISO – Butler and Valparaiso split a doubleheader on Saturday with BU winning game one 6-4 and Valpo taking the nightcap 5-2. The third game of the series will be played tomorrow at 1 PM CST.
 
Ryan Pepiot picked up his third win of the year on the mound for BU in game one. The junior tossed seven full innings and struck out 11 batters. Pepiot didn't walk a single Crusader and limited Valpo to one earned run off five hits. The eighth inning went to Jack Myers and the save would go to Jack Pilcher (1).
 
Robbie McCargar, Andy Bennett and Kyle Smith all provided BU with extra base hits in game one of the doubleheader. Smith homered to right in the top of the fifth to break a 2-2 tie. McCargar would add to the BU lead with a ground-rule RBI double in the seventh. BU pushed two across in the seventh with Harrison Freed also scoring on a wild pitch.
 
Freed went 3-for-4 from the dish with two runs scored. Smith went 2-for-3 with three runs scored.
 
Valpo hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to get back within one at 5-4, but the Bulldogs would hang on for their 12th win of the season with Pilcher striking out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth.
 
Game two went to the home team with Valparaiso scoring the first three runs. Butler got on the scoreboard in the fourth with a solo home run down the leftfield line from Brody McGrath. The second BU run was also generated by McGrath. He hit a sac fly to left allowing James Gargano to tag up and touch home plate.
 
Freed was the team hit leader again in game two with three. Zach Parker went 2-for-4 as the starting catcher.
 
The loss went to Sam Hubbe. The senior tossed five frames and struck out six batters. Single innings out of the bullpen would belong to Ryan Schmit, Austin Waeghe and Quentin Miller.