INDIANAPOLIS – Butler will host Seton Hall this weekend at Bulldog Park. The first game of the three-game series will stream on FloSports.com at 1 PM on Friday. Butler has won two of three against Seton Hall over the last two years. These two teams head into the weekend with identical BIG EAST records.
 
Weekend Series
Friday, April 26 – 1 PM
Saturday, April 27 – 2 PM
Sunday, April 28 – 1 PM
 
Scouting Seton Hall
The Pirates are 19-22 overall with a 2-7 mark against BIG EAST opponents. They took two losses this week with a 5-4 setback to Rider on Tuesday followed by a 31-0 shutout loss to Columbia on Wednesday.
 
Seton Hall went to Georgetown to open up BIG EAST action. All three games were close with the Hoyas taking two of three. GU won 3-0 and 1-0. SHU's game two win was a 1-0 decision. Seton Hall hosted Villanova the following weekend and the Wildcats would sweep the Pirates in South Orange. SHU most recently hosted Xavier in conference play. They lost games one and two, but dominated the third to claim a 10-1 win.
 
The Pirates had the best team ERA in the BIG EAST before Wednesday night's loss to Columbia. They moved from 4.57 to 5.21. That jump also moved them nationally from 34th to 80th. They still rank second in the BIG EAST in strikeouts per nine innings and are third in both strikeout-to-walk ratio and WHIP. Solid pitching and small ball seems to be a recipe the Pirates like to use in 2024. The Pirates lead the league and rank 36th in the NCAA in sac bunts (25).
 
Ryan Reich and Jay Allmer are two Pirates that will definitely see some action in Indy. Reich was a preseason All-BIG EAST selection that leads the conference in total strikeouts (63), and strikeouts per nine innings (12.3). Jay Allmer will be used in the back end of the bullpen. He leads the club with four saves.
 
At the plate, the Pirates are led by Zack Sylvester and Danny Melnick. Sylvester is batting .298 over 39 starts and is also the team leader in walks (23) and stolen bases (9). Melnick leads the team with 46 hits and is the BIG EAST leader in both doubles (14) and triples (4). Shortstop Max Viera and OF Devin Hack were preseason all-conference selections for SHU and Jonathan Luders is one of the toughest players to strike out in the entire country.


Last Year vs. the Pirates
Butler won the series at Seton Hall last year two games to one. The Bulldogs won the opener 6-2 and would come out on top in game two 12-10. The series finale went to the Pirates 9-2.
 
Nick Miketinac and Cole Graverson each touched the rubber in Butler's game one win at Seton Hall. Offense was provided by Joey Urban as he went 2-for-5 in the two-hole with an RBI and a run scored. Graverson returned to the hill to earn the win in game two. Butler would out dual SHU in a contest that featured 28 total hits. Graverson locked down the final four outs, two of which were strikeouts. The Pirates stayed hot in the finale to outhit Butler 16-5. They opened up a 7-0 lead at the midway point and cruised to a 9-2 victory.
 
All-Time Series
Butler is 13-17 against Seton Hall as conference rivals. The Bulldogs have won the weekend series over the Pirates five times (2023, 2022, 2017, 2015, 2014) and their only BIG EAST Tournament win was a 2-1 thriller in 13 innings back in 2018. The Pirates swept BU in 2016 and in 2018.
 
BIG EAST Standings
UConn 7-2, 22-18
St. John's 6-3, 25-10-1
Georgetown 8-4, 27-13
Xavier 5-4, 21-20
Creighton 4-5, 30-9
Villanova 5-7, 14-24
Seton Hall 2-7, 19-22
Butler 2-7, 16-23
 
About Last Night
Butler scored nine runs in the first inning to help claim a 10-6 win at Eastern Illinois on Wednesday night. Billy Wurch hit a grand slam while Carter Dorighi went 2-for-4 with a homer and a double. The starter was Gage Vota and the win went to Simon Linde.
 
Parking Update
Fans may park in the Hinkle Fieldhouse parking lot or along the north side of 52nd Street for the games this weekend.
 
Full 40
Carter Dorighi and Jack Moroknek are the only Bulldogs on the roster to start in all 40 games this season. Dorighi leads the team with 176 at-bats and Moroknek is second at 154. The duo combines for 116 hits, 20 doubles, 15 home runs, 77 RBIs,73 runs, and 189 total bases.
 
Inning Eaters
Tyler Banks, Ben Whiteside and Cole Graverson have thrown the most innings for BU this season. A starter in 10 games, Banks has 34 strikeouts over his 45 innings of action. Whiteside joins him as the only other player to toss over 40 innings this season and Graverson serves as the team's strikeout leader (40) as well as a team captain.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Carter Dorighi ranks 20th in the nation in hits (66) and 22nd in hits per game (1.6)
- Kade Lewis leads the league in total bases (98) and slugging percentage (.690)
- Lewis and Dorighi rank third and fourth among BIG EAST players in batting average
- Dorighi leads the team with 22 multi-hit games
- Lewis takes a 10-game hitting streak into the Seton Hall series
- Joey Urban leads the conference in sac flies with four
- Urban has reached base safely in 15-straight games
- Butler ranks second in the BIG EAST in hits (394)
- BU has hit a double in 15-straight games, a streak that began on March 30
- Cole Graverson ranks second in the BIG EAST in saves with five
- Andrew Crumbley has the best record on the mound for BU at 3-2
- Crumbley has not allowed a home run this season and has 24 K's in 18.2 innings
- Tyler Banks has only walked 13 batters over 45 innings
- Christian Finnigan spent his freshman season at SHU in 2022
- Seton Hall was picked third in the BIG EAST Coaches Preseason Poll
 
Up Next
The Bulldogs will host Saint Louis next Tuesday at 4 PM and stay in town for a three-game weekend series vs. Xavier. The month of May will get underway with the Musketeers battling Butler at Bulldog Park. Game one of the series is set for Friday at 3 PM.