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INDIANAPOLIS – Butler and Ball State will renew their in-state rivalry on Tuesday afternoon at Ball Diamond inside the First Merchants Ballpark Complex. First pitch is set for 3 PM.
Scouting Ball State
The Cardinals are set to host Butler in what will be the 117th meeting between the in-state foes. The Cardinals hold a 68-48 advantage in the series, but the Bulldogs have won the past two contests. Rich Maloney has led his club to a 20-11 record this year with signature wins over Alabama, Notre Dame and Georgetown. The Cardinals sit at third in the Mid-American Conference at 5-2.
Ball State sprinted out of the gates putting up impressive offensive number through the first 30 games. Six Cardinals are batting at a clip over .300 this season, led by junior outfielder Aaron Simpson at .373. Of his 46 hits, he has six doubles; three triples and two home runs that have helped him knock in 30 RBI.
Ross Messina is another power bat for Ball State. Currently hitting .317, Messina has four home runs and 14 doubles to rank 15th in the nation. He holds the team lead in both home runs and runs-batted-in.
On the mound, Ball State's staff is filled with power arms. After the first half of the season the Cardinals rank 4th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings. Junior right-hander John Baker is a big reason why. In five starts, Baker has sent 39 batters to the bench in just 29 innings pitched. His 1.57 ERA leads the team and has given him a 3-1 record.
Mike Pachmayer has contributed as a starter and out of the bullpen for Ball State. In 10 appearances Pachmayer has posted a record of 4-0 while limiting batters to a .305 average.
BU Probable Starter: LHP Joe Graziano
Graziano is 1-3 on the season with a 3.16 ERA. He struck out a season-high eight batters in his last start at Dayton on April 2. The sophomore has 23 strikeouts in 25.2 innings of work. His last three starts have all gone five full innings. Tuesday will go down as his 10th start of his BU career.
BIG EAST Standings
Xavier 3-0, 11-19
St. John's 2-1, 16-11
Seton Hall 2-1, 13-14
Butler 1-2, 17-12
Villanova 1-2, 7-22
Creighton 0-0, 16-7
Georgetown 0-3, 8-24
Last Week
James Gargano hit .429 last week by collecting six hits in 14 at-bats. He scored three runs had one extra base hit (2B) and picked up one RBI. The left fielder held a .529 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage.
Big Bullpen Performances
Alex Voss and
Jack Myers were both great for Butler out of the bullpen against St. John's. Voss earned his second win of the season after tossing 5.2 innings against the Red Storm. He limited STJ to just one run off five hits. Voss struck out four and didn't issue a walk. The day prior, Myers threw the final 5.1 innings for Butler and kept the Bulldogs in the game by limiting the Johnnies to just one run off three hits.
Freed Grand Slam
Harrison Freed blasted a grand slam over the right field wall to give Butler an early 6-2 lead over St. John's on Saturday. The slugger came back to homer again in the sixth inning to break up a 6-6 tie. Freed had two Bulldogs on base for his second homer to help secure Butler's win over the Red Storm. His three-run home run moved his RBI total to seven, a number he also reached against Saint Peter's on March 1. The BU school record is 8. Freed now has 10 home runs this season to lead the team and the BIG EAST.
Last Year vs. Ball State
Butler posted a 6-2 win over Ball State last year at Bulldog Park.
Sam Hubbe got the start on the mound and would throw the first six innings of the contest. He was replaced by
Brock Balderson who ended the game with the win.
Kevin Napoleon, Austin Waghe,
John MacCauley and
Quentin Miller also saw playing time down the stretch to help BU come out on top. The Christman brothers supplied BU with four of the five RBI against the Cardinals. Connor started at first base and went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a walk.
Andy Bennett led-off for BU and went 2-for-2 with three walks.
Coming Up
Butler will host Creighton this weekend in a three-game series. Game one will feature a 4 PM start time on Friday, April 12. The Bluejays will play at Nebraska on Tuesday. The 6:35 first pitch will air on FS1.
