INDIANAPOLIS – The Butler baseball team will play a three-game series at St. John's this weekend. All three contests at Jack Kaiser Stadium will stream on ESPN 3.
 
Weekend Schedule
Friday, April 22 – 3 PM
Saturday, April 23 – 1 PM
Sunday, April 24 – 1 PM
 
Projected Starters
RHP Derek Drees vs. RHP Joe Joe Rodriguez
LHP Cory Bosecker vs. RHP Brandon Backman
LHP Nick Eaton vs. TBD
 
BIG EAST Standings
UConn 6-0, 30-7
Creighton 6-0, 21-10
Xavier 3-3, 19-19
Georgetown 4-5, 22-15
Villanova 4-5, 14-18
Butler 2-4, 18-20
Seton Hall 2-4, 10-26
St. John's 0-6, 14-23
 
Scouting St. John's
The Red Storm head into the weekend with a 13-24 overall record that includes a 0-6 mark against BIG EAST competition. UConn swept the Johnnies in Storrs and Creighton claimed three wins over STJ at Jack Kaiser Stadium.
 
Kevin Michaels, Tate Ballestero, and David Glancy are the top hitters in the STJ batting order. Ballestero leads the club with 46 total hits and Glancy is the home run leader with eight. Michaels has only played in 32 games compared to 36 for both Ballestero and Glancy. He holds the best average on the team at .345.
 
A pair of right handers will touch the rubber for STJ this weekend.  Joe Joe Rodriguez and Brandon Backman are slated to throw Friday and Saturday while Sunday's decision is still a mystery. Rodriguez is 1-4 this season with a 7.49 ERA. He will make his sixth start and 11th total appearance on Friday. Rodriguez is currently tied for the team lead in strikeouts with 32.
 
Backman has been a starter seven times for the Red Storm this season. He is 1-1 on the hill with a 4.44 ERA. Other Johnnies most likely to see time include Chuck Sanzio and Tim Cunningham. Sanzio has a team-best five saves over 15 appearances this season. Cunningham has appeared in 20 of St. John's 36 games.
 
Last Series vs. St. John's
Butler went 1-3 last year vs. St. John's at Bulldog Park. The Johnnies shut Butler out in the first two contests 9-0 and 4-0, but the 'Dawgs would pick up a win in game three 4-1. The finale went to the Red Storm 9-4. Butler has never won a weekend series against St. John's since joining the BIG EAST in 2014. The Johnnies have swept the series three times; 2017, 2015, and 2014.
 
Hitting Streak
Kollyn All and Kyle Van Liere will each take a four-game hitting streak into the St. John's series.
 
Coming In Hot
Kyle Van Liere went 5-for-6 (.833) from the plate this week in games against Northern Kentucky and Dayton. He scored six runs, hit a two-run home run, stole a base and walked three times during the midweek matchups.
 
Drees is Due for a Weekend Start
Bulldog pitcher Derek Drees will make his first start of the season this weekend at St. John's. The right-hander threw four innings of relief ball at Villanova (64 pitches) and cruised for a five-inning outing last weekend at home vs. Georgetown (85 pitches). So far this season, Drees is 3-0 on the mound with a 0.74 ERA. Two of his three wins have come against BIG EAST competition. He has 38 strikeouts in 24.1 innings and is also the team leader with four saves.
 
Galdoni Gaining Confidence
Lukas Galdoni has been great out of the bullpen for Butler during conference games. He has two saves in three appearances and has only allowed two hits in six innings.
 
He's Going
Travis Holt ranks third in the BIG EAST with 15 stolen bases. The conference leader has 18 in 19 attempts. As a team, Butler and Xavier are tied for the conference lead with 55 stolen bases each.
 
Find a Way
Billy Wurch leads Butler with 20 walks and has also been hit by a pitch a team-high 10 times. Wurch leads BU in on-base percentage (.404).
 
Time to Travel
Butler has played 10 of their last 14 games at Bulldog Park. Home games during that stretch included matchups vs. Eastern Illinois, Evansville, Georgetown, Northern Kentucky and Dayton. The road trips sent BU to Notre Dame and Villanova. BU will still host three more weekends of BIG EAST action. UConn, Xavier and Seton Hall will all visit Indianapolis. The Bulldogs are 11-6 at home in 2022 and 5-13 on the road.
 
Best vs. the BIG EAST
Dominic Milano, Garret Gray and Kyle Van Liere are playing some of their best baseball against conference opponents. Milano is batting .875 in conference matchups coming up with a hit in seven of his eight at-bats. He has two doubles and a home run for four RBI. Gray is batting .636 with seven hits in 11 at-bats and Van Liere is 4-for-11 in BIG EAST play to post a .364 BA.
 
Scott Jones Update
Butler right fielder Scott Jones was injured during the Georgetown series and did not see any action for the Bulldogs during midweek wins over Northern Kentucky or Dayton. At this time, there is no timetable for his return.
 
Up Next
Butler will return to action on Tuesday, April 26 with a game vs. Indiana at Victory Field. Tickets for the 6:30 first pitch are on sale now.