INDIANAPOLIS – With Owen T. Carroll Field renovations ongoing, the Seton Hall Pirates will host the Butler Bulldogs at Jack Kaiser Stadium this weekend. The Red Storm will play at Georgetown, allowing SHU to host BU on their home diamond.
Schedule Change
Saturday, April 27 - Butler at Seton Hall - 12 PM Doubleheader
Sunday, April 28 - Butler at Seton Hall - 12 PM Start
Probable Starters
RHP
Ryan Pepiot vs. RHP Noah Thompson
RHP
Connor Schultz vs. RHP Ricky DeVito
LHP
Kevin Napoleon vs. RHP David Festa
BIG EAST Standings
Xavier 7-1, 16-23
Creighton 5-1, 24-8
St. John's 5-4, 23-14
Villanova 3-6, 10-28
Seton Hall 2-4, 16-21
Georgetown 2-4, 13-27
Butler 2-6, 20-18
Scouting Seton Hall
The Butler Bulldogs travel to Queens, N.Y. this weekend to take on the Seton Hall Pirates in a critical BIG EAST series. Seton Hall and Butler are both looking to sneak into the BIG EAST Championship mix with just a few weeks left in the season. Rob Shepard leads a talented Pirates roster full of All-BIG EAST talent.
The Pirates are 16-21 on the season, with a 2-4 mark in the BIG EAST after losing three-straight to Creighton last weekend. Seton Hall still has a number of impressive wins over baseball powerhouses such as Virginia and then #19 TCU.
Junior first basemen Matt Toke leads the team in average at a .290 mark this season. Right-fielder Christian Del Castillo provides the power in the middle of the order with his 12 doubles, five home runs and 25 RBI. Sophomore Casey Dana is having a breakout season for SHU with his .281 average, team-leading six home runs and 21 RBI. Dana was named to the BIG EAST honor roll back-to-back weeks for his performances versus Villanova and TCU.
On the mound, Seton Hall is led by the 2018 BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, junior Ricky Devito. The right-hander has posted a 4.46 ERA in seven starts this season, collecting 33 strikeouts in 34.1 innings pitched. David Festa, a freshman right-hander, holds a record of 2-2 through six starts. His 4.00 ERA is best amongst the usual starters. Butler will also see Noah Thompson, the strikeout leader for the Pirates. The junior right-hander holds a 3-2 record with a 4.19 ERA in nine starts. His 53 strikeouts are good for eighth in the BIG EAST conference.
Pirates in the Pen
Corey Sawyer and Sean Miller are two of the best options out of the Seton Hall bullpen. The duo ranks 1-2 in ERA in the BIG EAST. Sawyer has made 20 total appearances and leads the team with four saves. Miller has only tossed 15.2 innings over nine appearances, but he holds a 1.72 ERA.
Last Year vs. Seton Hall
Butler went 1-4 against Seton Hall last year with two of the five contests coming in the 2018 BIG EAST Tournament. The Pirates swept Butler at Bulldog Park with wins of 6-1, 3-0 and 7-5. The Bulldogs would charge back with a 2-1 win over Seton Hall in Round 1 of the conference tournament. The game lasted 13 innings and moved Butler up against St. John's in the winner's bracket. BU would fall 12-8 to the Johnnies and would be eliminated from the postseason with 4-3 loss to SHU.
Last Series at Seton Hall
Butler took two of three games at Seton Hall in 2017. Head Coach
Dave Schrage was in his first season at the helm of the program and guided BU to wins over SHU in game one (6-2) and three (4-1).
What's at Stake?
Butler is at the midway point of the conference season. The 'Dawgs have already faced St. John's, Creighton and Xavier; the top three teams in the BIG EAST standings. Four teams make up the postseason tournament field over Memorial Day weekend. In order for BU to return to Prasco Park they will need to win weekend games vs. Seton Hall, Villanova and Georgetown. Each series vs. Seton Hall and Georgetown will be on the road. BU will host Nova over the first weekend of May.
Pepiot Lands on BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Ryan Pepiot pitched 6.0 innings in an eventual 6-5 loss to Xavier on Thursday. Pepiot's no-decision appearance included 120 pitches with just four hits. He struck out a season-high 13 batters and walked four as he left the mound with no runs scored against him.
Props to Pepiot
Ryan Pepiot recorded 13 strikeouts at Xavier to give him 98 strikeouts in 2019, and 278 in his career. He is now just two shy of the all-time Butler record of 280, set by major-leaguer Pat Neshek (2000-02). Pepiot's 98 K's are good for fifth in the NCAA and tops in the BIG EAST.
BIG EAST Triple Crown Talk
Harrison Freed currently ranks second in the conference in batting average (.354), first in home runs (13) and first in RBI (52). He trails Creighton's Jack Holton (.397) in average with four regular season weekends remaining on the schedule. Freed is the only BIG EAST player with more than 50 hits heading into the weekend.
Long Ball
Harrison Freed has a team-high 13 home runs this season. No other Bulldog over the last 10 years has hit more than 12.
Tyler Houston ended his 2017 campaign with 12 and Jimi Risi hit 12 bombs for BU in 2012. The single-season home run record at BU is 21 set by Eric Storey (1999).
52 RBI
Harrison Freed has a team-high 52 RBI in 38 games played. No other Bulldog in the last 10 years has reached 50 in a single-season. Freed ranks ninth in the NCAA in the category.
League Leader
Kyle Smith leads has scored 41 runs for Butler this season, marking the highest total in the BIG EAST and ranking 76th in the NCAA. Smith is also the league leader in the hit by pitch category. Smith has been hit 16 times this season, ranking 10th in the NCAA. He is also one shy of tying the school single-season record.
Up Next
Butler will play at Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday, April 30. BIG EAST play will resume on May 3 at home against Villanova.
