INDIANAPOLIS – The Bulldogs will travel to Cincinnati this weekend for their first road series in BIG EAST conference play. Butler sits at 2-4 in the BIG EAST after dropping two of three games to Creighton a week ago. Xavier is the current leader in the BIG EAST with a 5-1 record through two weeks of conference action.
 
Weekend Schedule
Thursday April 18 – Butler at Xavier – 3PM
Friday April 19 – Butler at Xavier – 3 PM
Saturday April 20 – Butler at Xavier – 1 PM
 
Probable Starters
RHP Ryan Pepiot vs. RHP Damien Richard
RHP Sam Hubbe vs. RHP Griffin Lanoue
RHP Connor Schultz vs. RHP Connor Grammes
 
BIG EAST Standings
Xavier             5-1      14-23
Creighton       2-1      19-8   
Seton Hall       2-1      16-17
St. John's        3-3      20-13
Butler             2-4      18-16
Georgetown   2-4      11-26
Villanova        2-4      9-24
 
Scouting Xavier
The Xavier Musketeers will host Butler after a series win versus St. John's last weekend. Xavier got off to a slow start in 2019 due to a schedule filled with ranked opponents. Xavier was swept in its series against then No. 7 North Carolina, No. 13 Texas and Arizona State. Despite the early season losses, Xavier has posted impressive wins versus non-conference opponent No. 8 Louisville, and BIG EAST foes Georgetown and St. John's to bring them to 5-1 in the conference.
 
BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year Connor Grammes paces Xavier on the mound and at the plate. The junior leads the team in average, hitting .301 and chipping in five home runs and 18 RBI. On the mound, Grammes holds an ERA of 5.53 in nine starts. His 57 strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitched is good for the team lead and second in the BIG EAST conference.
 
The middle of the order is where Xavier is strongest. Sophomore Allbry Major is hitting .294 with nine doubles and 17 RBI out of the three-hole. At the cleanup spot, Matt Warkentin leads Xavier with six home runs while chipping in 19 RBI.
 
Butler is set to face off against Griffin Lanoue on Friday, a sophomore right-hander who holds a 6.21 ERA in seven starts. Lanoue has held opponents to a .285 average in 33.1 innings through 2019. Damien Richard gets the start for Xavier in the series opener. The 6-4 righty carries a 7.67 ERA into his fourth start on the season.
 
Thursday marks the 91st meeting between the two rivals. Xavier holds the advantage in the series 57-33.
 
Last Year vs. Xavier
Butler won the series versus their conference foes in 2019, taking two of three games from the Musketeers at Bulldog Park. Xavier took the first game 9-6, but Butler answered with victories of 8-4 and 6-4. Ryan Pepiot earned the win in game two, going seven full innings and picking up nine strikeouts along the way. Connor Schultz earned the save in that game, pitching the final two frames and striking out two batters. Harrison Freed went 2-4 with an RBI double in the first game of the series.
 
Connor Grammes got knocked around in his start versus Butler last year, lasting only 4.2 innings and giving up 5 runs on 5 hits. He made up for it at the plate, going 6-15 in the series with a double and three RBI.
 
Pepiot Chases Strikeout Record
Junior right-hander Ryan Pepiot heads into the weekend with 265 career strikeouts at Butler. He leads the team, the BIG EAST Conference, and ranks fifth in the NCAA this year with 85 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 face off against the Musketeers this weekend. Pepiot will take the mound on Thursday, looking for his 15th career win. The Bulldog ace struck out 10 Blue Jays last weekend in just seven frames. Hubbe will touch the rubber on Saturday with his 3-2 record in 2019. The senior is just six strikeouts away from 100 in his career. The third member of the trio is Schultz. The sophomore from Cedar Falls, Iowa is 5-0 this season with a team-best 1.43 ERA.
 
Schultz Named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week
Connor Schultz dominated in his start versus the Creighton Blue Jays on Sunday. The sophomore pitched eight full innings in which he allowed only five hits while striking out seven batters. Schultz threw 124 pitches on the day to bring his season record to 5-0. The shutout brings Schultz's ERA to 1.43 on the year, good for 19th in the NCAA.
 
Focusing on Freed
Harrison Freed continued to dominate at the plate in the series versus Creighton. The junior kept Butler alive in the first game, coming in clutch in the bottom of the ninth. Down 7-5, Freed mashed a two-run home run to tie the game and send it into extra innings. Freed ended the game with three hits and four RBI. Butler went on to drop the game in extra innings, 8-7.
 
Freed in the Lead
Harrison Freed leads the BIG EAST conference in hits (52), RBI (49), home runs (12) and slugging percentage (.714). Freed also leads the team in average at .371. His RBI total is good for sixth in the NCAA and his slugging percentage is good for 17th.
 
Hit or Get Hit
Lead-off man Kyle Smith ranks 10th in the NCAA in the hit by pitch category. Smith has been struck by a pitch 15 times, which is just two shy of tying the school record set by Austin Miller in 2015. Smith is a .292 hitter with eight home runs, four doubles and two triples. He leads the team with nine steals.
 
Be Patient
As a team, Butler has recorded 170 walks to lead the BIG EAST and rank 40th in the NCAA. Kyle Smith leads the team with 22 walks, but the Bulldogs have 10 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 Streaking
James Gargano is on an 11-game hitting streak. The sophomore is batting .333 in conference action after picking up seven hits in 21 at bats.
 
Solid All-Around
Butler's pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 3.41 through 34 games this season, good for the BIG EAST lead. That total is also good for 22nd in the NCAA. Connor Schultz (1.43 in 50.1 innings) and Kevin Napoleon (2.16 in 25 innings) lead the charge in the category.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Kollyn All tied his season-high RBI total with two vs. Creighton (4/13)
- All hit a triple in his first collegiate at-bat (vs. Rider 2/16)
- James Gargano has an eleven game hit streak
- Gargano went 3-4 in Tuesday's loss to Purdue
- Duncan Hewitt is injured (knee)
- Jacob Margroff has walked four times over his last three games
- Robbie McCargar hit his third home run of the season Saturday vs. Creighton
- Brody McGrath came up with his first multi-hit game since March 10 vs. Creighton on Saturday
- Zach Parker went 4-for-5 with two doubles vs. Creighton on April 12
- Harrison Freed and Brody McGrath are the only two 'Dawgs to start in all 34 games
- Freed has 12 multi-hit games this year and 12 multi-RBI games
- BU ranks 13th in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings (10.0)
-Kyle Smith ranks sixth in the NCAA in hit by pitch per game (0.48)