CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Butler baseball team dropped a game at Coaches Stadium on Tuesday evening to wrap up the 2019 non-conference portion of the schedule. The Bulldogs were limited to just five hits in the contest.
 
Kyle Smith hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning to double Butler up on the scoreboard. His ninth home run of the season would highlight the Bulldog bats on Tuesday.
 
The contest got off to a shaky start with Eastern Illinois putting up four runs in the bottom of the first inning. BU battled back with three in the top of the second.
 
James Gargano would double down the leftfield line to score Jacob Margroff and Brody McGrath would also double in the inning to score Gargano. The final run of the second came from Sam Russo. The BU catcher singled to rightfield allowing McGrath to cross home plate.
 
EIU would match Butler with three runs in the bottom of the second inning and take control of the contest with four more runs in the third. The home team reached 13 total runs by adding a pair in the sixth.
 
Carson Haws (4-0) was credited with the win for the Panthers. He tossed seven full innings and struck out eight. The loss went to Derek Drees (0-1).
 
The final three games of the regular season appear next on the BU schedule. The Bulldogs will travel to Georgetown for a three-game series. Game one opens on May 16 at 7 PM.