INDIANAPOLIS – Opening Day for the Butler Bulldog baseball team will be Tuesday, March 9 when the team welcomes in the visiting DePauw Tigers for a 3 PM contest.
Probable Starters
RHP
John MacCauley vs. RHP Sam Paddock
MacCauley made three appearances out of the bullpen in 2020. He ended the year 1-0 on the mound with a 2.57 ERA. Tuesday will be his 22nd overall appearance of his BU career and just the third start.
Bulldog Baseball
The Bulldogs are ready for a full season of action in 2021. Head Coach
Dave Schrage has a loaded senior class including
Brody McGrath,
Andy Bennett,
James Gargano,
Duncan Hewitt,
Matt McElwain,
Jacob Margroff,
Nick Ortega,
Jack Pilcher,
Ryan Schmit,
Jack Myers, and BIG EAST Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Connor Schultz.
Schultz is 11-4 on the mound over his three-year career. He has 140 strikeouts as a Bulldog in 138.2 innings of work. Last year, Schultz went 2-1 over his first four starts of 2020. He held a 3.04 ERA before the abrupt end to the year and posted 26 strikeouts in 23.2 innings.
The Bulldog ace will be joined in the weekend rotation by
Jack Myers. The 6-7 local product from Cathedral H.S. was dominant on the mound last year with a team-best 34 strikeouts and two walks over 24.2 innings. Out of the bullpen, BU will use
Jack Pilcher to close out games. The senior has 16 saves over 54 appearances.
Duncan Hewitt will be back behind the plate for the 'Dawgs in 2021. Hewitt hit .271 in 14 games last year and .333 the year prior in 2019.
Nick Ortega and
Brody McGrath were the only two players to post a higher average than Hewitt last year. Ortega hit .283 with four doubles and a team-best 11 RBI. McGrath was a .280 hitter with seven RBI.
Ortega will roam the outfield along with Gargano, McElwain, and Margroff. Now in his senior season, Gargano has been a staple to the Bulldog lineup since arriving in 2018. He has played in 103 games, starting in 92 of those contests.
Scouting DePauw
The Tigers are 4-1 overall with over Wabash and Greenville. They lost their season opener to Wabash 4-3, but would erupt with 17 runs in game two of the doubleheader to split the series. Last weekend, DePauw played a three game series vs. Greenville and swept the action. They won by three runs in the first two games and then squeaked out a one-run win in the getaway game.
Kyle Callahan is off to an incredible start to the season. A starter in all five games, Callahan has eight hits in 19 at-bats to post a .421 average. He has two doubles and a triple, helping him record four RBI and 12 total bases. Nick Nelson and Charlie Patrick are also batting over .300. Nelson has a team-high two homers on the year and Patrick has one.
Up Next
Butler will host a three-game home series against Purdue Fort Wayne over the weekend. Game one is slated for 2 PM on Friday, March 12 at Bulldog Park.
