Listen | Live Stats
 
INDIANAPOLIS – The final non-conference game of the 2019 campaign is on the horizon for the Butler baseball team. The Bulldogs will travel to Charleston to face Eastern Illinois on Tuesday, May 14.
 
Probable Starters
RHP Derek Drees vs. RHP Carson Haws
 
Scouting Eastern Illinois
The Panthers are 24-27 this season after taking three-straight losses to OVC foe Austin Peay over the weekend. Third-year head coach Jason Anderson has talented group that posts a .291 team batting average. Christian Pena is at the top of the stat sheet with a .379 BA that includes 66 total hits and 34 RBI. BU will keep a close eye on Jimmy Govern and his team-best 14 home run total. Hunter Morris is yet another power bat in the order. He has 10 home runs and a team-high 49 RBI.
 
On the mound, Eastern Illinois will go with senior Carson Haws. A 6-3 right-hander, Haws is 3-0 this season with a 5.16 ERA. Tuesday will mark his sixth start of the season. He has 42 strikeouts scattered over 29.2 innings of action.
 
Rematch
Eastern Illinois came to Bulldog Park earlier this season on March 19 and left with a 2-0 win over Butler. Jimmy Govern and Christian Pena each recorded an RBI to help the Panthers come out on top. Foster Anshutz and Josh Cooper combined for the shutout on the mound. Anshutz tossed 6.2 innings and limited BU to just two hits to collect his third win of the season. Cooper was credited with the save after throwing the final 2.1. Hits for Butler belonged to Harrison Freed (2), Andy Bennett and Zach Jarosz.
 
BIG EAST Standings
Xavier 12-4
Creighton 11-4
Seton Hall 9-6
St. John's 6-9
Butler 5-9
Georgetown 5-10
Villanova 4-10
 
Final Four
The final four games of the 2019 regular season are in front of Butler this week. BU will try to grab some momentum at Eastern Illinois on Tuesday before taking off for Washington D.C. this weekend. Butler will need to win their series against Georgetown to stay alive for the postseason. Xavier, Creighton and Seton Hall have all clinched a spot in the BIG EAST Baseball Championship Tournament. St. John's (6-9), Butler (5-9) and Georgetown will all go to battle for that final spot. St. John's will host Seton Hall this weekend.
 
Derek Drees to Start
Redshirt Freshman Derek Drees will make his first start for Butler on Tuesday at Eastern Illinois. The 6-6 right-hander has tossed seven innings this season over seven appearances. He has seven strikeouts on the mound and has allowed just three hits.
 
Can Smith Score Three More Runs?
Graduate transfer Kyle Smith has scored 56 runs for Butler this season and is now just three runs shy of tying the Butler single-season record. Eddie Olszta scored 59 runs for Butler during the 1999 season. Smith has a good chance at breaking that record with four games to play in the 2019 regular season. The speedy centerfielder hit .500 last week over four games. He scored seven runs while providing BU with seven hits.
 
Harrison Has a Chance
Junior Harrison Freed enters the final week of the regular season with a BIG EAST-best 77 total hits. Freed is chasing the single-season hit record at Butler set by Dale Mueller in 2003. Mueller recorded 81 hits and is the all-time leader in the category with 282 in his career.
 
Freed Fuels Batting Order
Harrison Freed recorded nine RBI last week to move his season total to 71. The BU right fielder now needs three RBI to tie the school record and four to break the mark set by Eric Storey in 1999.
 
One More for Freed
Yet another record to keep an eye on this week is the single-season mark for total bases. The BU record is 148, held by Eric Storey. Freed is close behind at 143.
 
Base on Balls
As a team, Butler has recorded 271 walks this season. The school record of 281 still stands from the 1981 season.
 
Next One Will Do It
Butler arms have recorded 454 strikeouts this season, reaching a total that was recorded a year ago for a school record.
 
Streaks
Harrison Freed is on a 14-game hitting streak. The BU slugger has reached base safely in 22-straight games.
 
BIG EAST Leaders
As a team, Butler leads the conference in base on balls (271), hit by pitch (69), on-base percentage (.386), runs (318), shutouts (5), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.26).
 
Bulldog Bits
- Ryan Pepiot ranks fifth in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings (14.26) and 10th in total strikeouts (113)
- Harrison Freed ranks fifth nationally in RBI (71), 10th in total bases (143) and 14th in home runs (17)
-  Freed ranks 15th in the NCAA in hits (77), 19th in slugging percentage (.715), and 33rd in average (.385)
- Head Coach Dave Schrage has recorded 90 wins at Butler. He already ranks fourth at BU in wins
- The 2019 BIG EAST Baseball Championship will be played at Prasco Park in 2019
 
Up Next
Butler will end the regular season with a three-game series at Georgetown this weekend. Game one of the series is set for Thursday, May 16.