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INDIANAPOLIS – Butler will take aim at the top team in the BIG EAST standings this weekend when they host Creighton for a four-game series. The Bluejays have only lost two conference games this season, but the Bulldogs were victorious the last time they left the diamond at Bulldog Park. Fans can catch the action on Friday at 4 PM. First pitch on both Saturday and Sunday is set for 12 PM.
 
Probable Starters
Friday: LHP Nick Eaton vs. RHP Dylan Tebrake
Saturday: RHP Connor Schultz vs. RHP Jonah Smith
Saturday: RHP Jack Myers vs. LHP Cade Lommell
Sunday: RHP John MacCauley vs. TBD
 
Scouting Creighton
The Bluejays are on top of the BIG EAST standings with a 9-2 conference record. They recently took three of four from St. John's to improve their overall record to 17-9. Creighton also took three of four against Georgetown and swept Villanova over opening weekend 3-0.
 
When you break down the numbers it is easy to see why Creighton is so hard to beat. The Bluejays lead the BIG EAST in team ERA (3.68), WHIP (1.25), walks allowed per nine innings (3.4), fielding percentage (.987) and double plays per game. Match those statistics with the best on-base percentage in the BIG EAST (.378) and you have a recipe for success.
 
The top two players in the lineup for head coach Ed Servais this season have been Alan Roden and Andrew Meggs. Roden is having a monster freshman season, batting .354 with 13 doubles, seven home runs and a team-best 39 RBI. He is tied with Meggs for the team lead in hits (35) and runs scored (27). Meggs is another tough out in the order with a .350 average. Creighton also has the reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week in Parker Upton. Against St. John's, Upton hit .400 and blasted a grand slam against the Red Storm to help post eight RBI.
 
Dylan Tebrake made the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for Creighton last week. The right-hander is undefeated on the mound this year (6-0) with a 2.61 ERA. He has 49 strikeouts in 48.1 innings of action. Tebrake has only walked 14 batters this season and has not allowed a home run.
 
Jonah Smith and Cade Lommell are also expected to touch the rubber at Bulldog Park. Smith has a team-best 54 strikeouts to go along with a 4.03 ERA. He is 5-2 on the mound over eight starts and ranks second on the team with 44.2 IP. Lommell gives the Bluejays a left-hander in the mix. He is 3-2 on the mound over five starts. The freshman holds onto a 3.58 ERA and has 28 strikeouts in 27.2 innings of work.
 
Butler vs. Creighton
Since joining the BIG EAST Conference in 2014, the Bulldogs have recorded four wins against Creighton. The Bluejays won eight of the first nine meetings, but since 2017 (Schrage's first year at Butler) the series is closer with BU trailing CU 4-3.
 
Butler and Creighton split a pair of games in 2017. The same could be said in 2018 when weather pushed the series to Edwardsville, Ill. Most recently, Creighton took two of three against Butler at Bulldog Park. The good news for Bulldog fans is that one of those losses went into extra innings. On top of that, Connor Schultz picked up the win for BU that last time the Bulldogs defeated the Bluejays. He threw eight complete innings of shutout baseball. He limited Creighton to just five hits while striking out seven. The offense was provided by a Robbie McCargar home run and an extra base hit from Brody McGrath.
 
No-Hitter
Connor Schultz and Nick Eaton combined to throw a no-hitter against Northern Kentucky in Butler's last game. Schultz threw the first 3.2 innings of action and Eaton was responsible for the final 3.1 innings to no-hit Northern Kentucky. Eaton was in the zone with six strikeouts and no walks during his time on the mound.
 
Nick Making Noise
Nick Eaton has carved out a nice role with the Bulldogs this season. Over his first six appearances, Eaton had nine strikeouts over 10 innings pitched. Over his last four outings, Eaton has 24 strikeouts in 14 IP. He hasn't walked a batter or allowed a run since April 17.
 
Schrage's Alma Mater
Dave Schrage was an all-conference outfielder at Creighton during his collegiate career, batting .400 as a junior and .433 his senior season. He also was an Academic All-America honoree during his senior campaign in 1983. Schrage was honored on the MVC's Centennial Celebration baseball team and is the only person in league history to earn all-conference honors and be named MVC Coach of the Year in baseball. Additional selections to the MVC All-Centennial Team at the outfield position include Joe Carter (Wichita State) and Kirby Puckett (Bradley).
 
Hot Bats
Butler scored 22 runs over the three-game series against Villanova, posting the highest run total of any weekend series this season. BU scored 19 against Valpo at the end of March and 13 against both Evansville and Ball State. In four game series; Butler scored 18 runs at Seton Hall and 17 at Xavier.
 
15 Hits
Butler recorded 15 hits against Villanova in the first game of the weekend series. Every starter that day recorded at least one hit. That total went down as the second highest total of any game this season. BU recorded 19 hits against Valpo on March 27.
 
Power at the Plate
Butler has hit nine home runs over their last 10 games. James Gargano hit a solo shot against Northern Kentucky last weekend to move his season total to four. He is tied for the team lead in home runs along with teammates Dan Harwood, Aaron Steinhart, and Robbie McCargar.
 
Small Ball
Butler laid down a season-high three sacrifice bunts on April 23 to help generate runs. Those important at-bats helped BU generate 10 RBIs.
 
Streaks
Dan Harwood has reached base safely in eight-straight games for BU. The longest hitting streak on the team is currently a tie between James Gargano and Harwood (3). The longest hitting streak of the season is a three-way tie between Gargano, Aaron Steinhart and Freddie Matos (6). Matos also has the longest reached base streak this season (13).
 
Multi-Hit Games
Freddie Matos and Brody McGrath share the team lead for most multi-hit games recorded this season. Matos has six two-hit games and two three-hit contests to reach eight total. McGrath as seven two-hit games and one three-hit performance to match his effort. Dan Harwood also pops off the page when looking over multi-hit games. He leads BU with four, three-hit games in 2021. He had a three-hit game vs. Northern Kentucky over the weekend. During that two game series, Harwood hit .714 with five hits in just seven at-bats. He hit a triple in game one and had two doubles in game two to post a 1.286 slugging percentage. The first baseman also scored three runs.
 
Minor League Baseball Startup
Minor League Baseball started back up on May 4. The Bulldogs are wishing the best of luck to Ryan Pepiot and Harrison Freed. Pepiot opens the season with the Tulsa Drillers (LA Dodgers AA) and Freed is with the San Jose Giants (San Francisco A).
 
Up Next
The final home series of the 2021 season for Butler will take place at Bulldog Park next weekend against St. John's from May 14-16. Friday's opener is set for 4 PM. Action on both Saturday and Sunday will start at 12 PM. All four games will stream on Butler's YouTube channel.