INDIANAPOLIS – The first three-game home series of the 2022 season will be played this weekend at Bulldog Park. Butler will host multiple games against Western Illinois on campus for the first time ever. The last time these two programs took the field against each other was in 2020 at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. Prior to that, WIU and BU played a three-game series in Jacksonville, Ill. at Lenz Field.
 
Schedule Change
Sunday, March 13 – Doubleheader – 12 PM Start
Monday, March 14 – Single Game – 4 PM Start
 
Scouting Western Illinois
The Leathernecks are 1-10 at the start of the 2022 season. Their lone victory came in the second game of the year at Western Kentucky. Western Illinois traveled to Bowling Green, Ky. to grab a 14-7 win. Additional games have been played against Arkansas Little Rock, Charlotte, Southern Illinois and Saint Louis.
 
Head Coach Andy Pascoe has two players hitting over .300 this season. Kory Olsen leads the club with 16 hits and a .364 BA. Toby Allred is another 11-game starter with a .325 batting average. On the mound, Jack Carberry and Chandler Fochs have each started three games. Carberry holds a 4.50 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 16 innings. Fochs has thrown 13 innings for WIU. Each pitcher is currently 0-2 on the hill.
 
Coach Connection
Western Illinois Head Coach Andy Pascoe was an assistant coach at Butler from 2017-2019. Pascoe served as the hitting coach for the Bulldogs before joining the Leathernecks.
 
Holt is Hot
Butler SS Travis Holt is leading the team with a .375 batting average and a .492 on-base percentage. He has seven multi-hit games for BU and had a six game hitting streak earlier in the year, the longest of any player on the roster.
 
Scott Can Scoot
Scott Jones hit the first triple of the season for Butler at North Florida this week. He now has the longest active hitting streak on the team at four games. The BU outfielder has also stole six bases in six attempts this season.
 
Reached Base Streak
DH Aaron Steinhart has reached base safely for Butler in all 12 games this season. He is batting .327 with a team-best 14 RBI.
 
On the Move
Butler has stole at least one base in 11 of their 12 games this season. The team is 35-for-38 on the year with Holt leading the way with nine.
 
Pepiot Update
RHP Ryan Pepiot is listed as the Los Angeles Dodgers No. 2 prospect on MLB.com. He reached low Class A in his pro debut before really opening eyes as the best pitcher at the Dodgers' alternate site in 2020. He overmatched big league hitters while showing improved stuff and control, and he has continued to dominate in the upper levels of the Minors in 2021. He will start the 2022 season with the Oklahoma City Dodgers (AAA).
 
Up Next
Butler will play at Illinois next week on Tuesday, March 15. The game will begin at 5 PM.