INDIANAPOLIS – Inclement weather has altered the weekend schedule for the Butler baseball team. The Bulldogs will now play a single game on Saturday at Bulldog Park and a doubleheader in Charleston on Sunday beginning at 1 PM. The Saturday tilt will feature a 3 PM start and will no longer be available on FloSports due to the date change. Each game of the doubleheader at EIU will stream on ESPN+.
 
Weekend Schedule
Saturday, April 1 – 3 PM at Bulldog Park
Sunday, April 2 – 1 PM Doubleheader at Coaches Stadium
 
Projected Starters
Saturday: LHP Cory Bosecker vs. RHP Tyler Conklin
Sunday Game 1: RHP Lukas Galdoni vs. RHP Ky Hampton
Sunday Game 2: TBD vs. RHP Blake Malatestinc
 
Scouting Eastern Illinois
The Panthers are 14-7 overall after going 1-2 at UT Martin to open up their conference slate. EIU split a Sunday doubleheader against the Skyhawks winning 10-4 in game one, but falling 12-4 in game two. Midweek games for Eastern Illinois included single games vs. Bradley and Illinois Wesleyan. They lost 8-5 at Bradley on Tuesday, but won 24-7 in their home opener Wednesday. Head Coach Jason Anderson enters his eighth season in Charleston in 2023. The team highlighted the non-conference slate with a 12-3 win at No. 9 Arkansas on Feb. 26.  The Panthers have a high-powered offense that leads the OVC in hits, runs, batting average and on-base percentage. Cole Gober leads the team in hits with 27. He holds a .318 batting average and is near the team lead with 16 RBI.
 
About Butler
The Bulldogs are 5-19 overall as they approach the BIG EAST portion of the schedule. BU is 3-4 over their last seven games with wins over Northwestern, Eastern Michigan and Cincinnati. Butler leads the conference in triples (9) and are led in the category by Joey Urban (3). Urban also leads the team in hits, average, doubles, home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging percentage and runs scored. On the mound, Cory Bosecker leads BU in starts, innings pitched, and strikeouts. On the back end, Aaron Barokas, Jon Vore and Lukas Galdoni all have saves this season.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Xavier Carter has scored three runs over Butler's last five games
- Kollyn All has recorded seven of his 10 RBIs this year in just two games (2/26, 3/26)
- Aaron Barokas recorded a save at Cincinnati and then started game two of the DH (3/26)
- Cory Bosecker has 40 strikeouts this season and has only issued 14 walks
- Jake DeFries had one RBI in three-straight games at Cincinnati
- Lukas Galdoni threw a season-high 77 pitches in his last start (3/26)
- Clay Holzworth has struck out two batters in five of his six appearances this season
- Jon Vore made his first start of the season at Notre Dame (3/28)
- Eight different Bulldogs have hit cleanup this year
- Butler has an extra base hit in five-straight games
 
Last Year vs. Eastern Illinois
Butler and Eastern Illinois played a four-game series at Bulldog Park last year. Butler opened the weekend with a 1-0 win over the Panthers on Friday. EIU came back with a 3-2 win over BU on Saturday. Sunday's doubleheader featured a seven-inning game followed by a 10-inning contest. BU swept the day with 2-0 and 2-1 victories.
 
Vore Lands on BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Jon Vore posted a win and a save on the mound for the Bulldogs last week, striking out seven batters in six total innings. Overall, he ended the week with a 0.00 ERA, while limiting the opposition to just two hits.
 
All-Right
Kollyn All had four RBIs in the win over Cincinnati on March 26. The BU slugger homered to left center in the fifth and repeated that result in the eighth with two runners on to give Butler an 8-5 win. All is the only Bulldog this season to have multiple home runs in a single game.
 
Hitting Streak
Joey Urban heads into the EIU series with a four-game hitting streak. Urban also opened the season with a hit in seven-straight games from Feb. 17-26.
 
Up Next
BIG EAST play opens up next weekend with Butler playing a three-game series at Xavier. Games will be played on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with Easter landing on Sunday, April 9. First pitch on Thursday is set for 3 PM. The conference rivals will play at 1 PM on both Friday and Saturday.