INDIANAPOLIS – The Bulldogs will host the Creighton Bluejays at Bulldog Park this weekend for a three-game series. Butler is currently 1-2 in BIG EAST play after hosting preseason favorite St. John's last weekend. The Creighton Bluejays had a BIG EAST bye last week, making this their conference opener.
 
Weekend Schedule Change
Friday, April 12 – Creighton at Butler, 4 PM
Saturday, April 13 – Creighton at Butler, 1 PM
Saturday, April 13 – Creighton at Butler 4 PM
 
Probable Starters
RHP Ryan Pepiot vs. RHP Mitch Ragan
RHP Sam Hubbe vs. LHP Denson Hull
RHP Connor Schultz vs. RHP Evan Johnson
 
BIG EAST Standings
Xavier 3-0, 11-20
St. John's 2-1, 17-11
Seton Hall 2-1, 13-15
Butler 1-2, 17-13
Villanova 1-2, 8-22
Creighton 0-0, 17-7
Georgetown 0-3, 8-24
 
Scouting Creighton (17-7)
The Creighton Bluejays open up BIG EAST play with a three-game set at Bulldog Park. In his 16th season, Head Coach Ed Servais has led his team to a 17-7 start in non-conference play.
 
Creighton has notched impressive victories over power-five teams such as Maryland, Nebraska and Kansas State. The Bluejays are winners of 10 of their last 12 due to their solid play all-around the diamond.
 
Butler will be facing a Creighton lineup that likes to strike early and often, as the Bluejays have outscored opponents 28-4 in the first frame. Junior Jake Holton, the team leader in average (.394), home runs (9) and RBI (33), heads the top scoring team in the conference.
 
Most of Holton's 33 RBI come from Parker Upton, the speedy leftfielder for Creighton. Upton's .487 on-base percentage and 32 runs lead the team. Junior Will Robertson a BIG EAST Preseason Co-Player of the Year and Preseason All-American strengthens the middle of the Bluejay order with his .289 batting average and 12 doubles.
 
Creighton will send senior Mitch Ragan to the mound Friday afternoon. The right-hander holds a record of 5-1 with an ERA of 4.50 on the season. In 44.0 innings pitched, Ragan has struck out 46 batters. Ragan is coming off a seven-inning performance in which he only surrendered three hits and struck out nine against Kansas State.
 
On Saturday, the Dawgs will see lefty Denson Hull who is 1-3 in nine starts this season. Hull has only pitched more than five innings once this season and holds an ERA of 8.35. On Sunday, Butler will face right-hander Evan Johnson (4-0, 3.48 ERA). In his last three starts (17 innings), Johnson has only allowed two runs on eight hits while striking out 15 batters.
 
In the field, Creighton is ranked 17th in the country with a .978 fielding percentage, only committing 20 errors on the year. The Bluejays hold a 10-3 all-time record against Butler.
 
Last Year vs. Creighton
Poor weather conditions shortened the BIG EAST series between Butler and Creighton last season. The two teams came together at SIUE in Edwardsville, Ill. to play a pair of games. BU won the first contest 6-4 and the Bluejays would take game two 3-2. Butler scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to win the first game. Harrison Freed went 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI and a run scored. Game two went to Creighton with the Bluejays scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Mitch Ragan limited BU to just five hits. He picked up his third win of the season that day after throwing seven full innings. He struck out five and only walked one.
 
Pepiot Chases Strikeout Record
Junior right-hander Ryan Pepiot heads into the weekend with 255 career strikeouts at Butler. He leads the team, the BIG EAST Conference and ranks seventh in the NCAA this year with 75 strikeouts. Pepiot ended his sophomore season with 101 K's and tallied 79 as a rookie in 2017. The all-time strikeout leader at Butler is two-time MLB All-Star Pat Neshek. The Phillies big leaguer recorded 280 strikeouts at Butler from 2000-02.
 
Weekend Arms
The weekend rotation will stay the same for Butler when the Bulldogs host the Bluejays this weekend. Pepiot will take the mound on Friday looking for his 15th career win. The Bulldog ace struck out seven Johnnies last weekend, but exited the game after 3.2 innings of work. He issued a season-high seven walks resulting in three earned runs. Hubbe will touch the rubber on Saturday with his 3-1 record in 2019. The senior is just seven strikeouts away from 100 in his career. The third member of the trio is Schultz. The sophomore from Cedar Falls, Iowa is 4-0 this season with a team-best 1.70 ERA.
 
Freed Lands on BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Freed went 4-for-13 in a 1-2 series against St. John's, but played a major role in the Bulldogs series-tying win on Saturday. Freed blasted a grand slam in the bottom of the second, then followed up to break a 6-6 tie with another three-run homer to give Butler the 11-7 victory.
 
Harrison is Hot
Harrison Freed hit a grand slam in the setback at Ball State, marking his second grand slam over his last three games. The junior outfielder leads the BIG EAST and ranks 14th in the NCAA in home runs with 11. He is now ranked seventh in the NCAA in runs batted in with 45.
 
Hit or Get Hit
Lead-off man Kyle Smith ranks ninth in the NCAA in the hit by pitch category. Smith has been struck by a pitch 14 times, which is just three shy of tying the school record set by Austin Miller in 2015. Smith is a .283 hitter with eight home runs, four doubles and two triples. He holds a .458 on-base percentage and leads the team with nine steals.
 
Be Patient
As a team, Butler has recorded 170 walks to lead the BIG EAST and rank 39th in the NCAA. Brody McGrath leads the team with 21 walks, but the Bulldogs have eight different-players with 10 or more.
 
Settle In
Butler has only allowed two runs in the second inning this season. Bulldog arms rank 20th in the NCAA in team ERA (3.29), 31st in hits allowed per nine innings (7.68) and 15th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.1).
 
Gargano Goes Steaking
James Gargano is on an eight-game hitting streak. The sophomore is batting .455 in conference action after picking up five hits in 11 at-bats vs. St. John's.