The Bulldogs will face the Bruins this weekend at E.S. Rose Park. The two teams adjusted the weekend schedule due to rain in the forecast. The new plan is to play two nine-inning games on Friday then return to the diamond on Sunday to play two seven-inning games.
 
Weekend Schedule
Friday, March 14 – 1 p.m. Central, 2 p.m. Eastern (Doubleheader)
Sunday, March 16 – 12 p.m. Central, 1 p.m. Eastern (Doubleheader)
All games played at E.S. Rose Park
 
Scouting Belmont
The Bruins recently won a weekend series at Little Rock, but took a 7-3 midweek loss at Middle Tennessee to move their overall record to 4-13. Their challenging non-conference schedule has included games against Georgia State, Kentucky, and Notre Dame.
 
Head Coach Dave Jarvis has over 1,000 career wins with nearly 800 of those coming at Belmont. He took over the program in 1998 and has led the Bruins to four conference championships and two NCAA Tournament berths (2011 and 2012).
 
The 2025 roster is led by Pete Daniel, Charlie Davis and Ty Allen. Daniel and Davis are battling for the team lead in hits with 22 and 20 respectively. Allen provides more power at the plate with a team-best four home runs. All three members of the trio have started in all 17 games and oddly enough all head into the weekend with 67 at-bats this year. Daniel and Davis also run well, combining for 15 of the team's 23 stolen bases.
 
On the mound, Belmont will likely start Joe Ruzicka, Will Pryor and Jake Timbes. Ruzicka is 1-1 on the year with a 3.60 ERA. Pryor's ERA is higher at 9.00, but he is the strikeout leader on the team with 21 in 19 innings. Timbes has a lower ERA at 2.19, but has yet to win a game over his four starts. All three arms set to start are right-handed.
 
About Butler
The Bulldogs are 6-9 on the year with wins over Tarleton State, Norfolk State (2x), Ohio and Lindenwood (2x). Jack Moroknek and Jack Bello are the best two bats in the lineup. Bello is batting .472 with seven doubles, two triples and three home runs. Moroknek holds a .467 average with six doubles and a team-high 10 home runs.
 
On the mound, Marcus Goodpaster is 2-1 with a 6.20 ERA. He has a team-high 11 strikeouts in 20.1 innings of work. Ben Whiteside is second on the team with 10 strikeouts, yet he has been limited to just nine innings of action.
 
Home Run King
Jack Moroknek leads the BIG EAST and ranks second in the nation in home runs with 10. Only Justin Lebron of Alabama has hit more (11). Moroknek homered in six of Butler's first seven games then tied his own school record on March 7 by hitting three in one game at Lindenwood.
 
Butler's single-season home run record was set by Eric Storey in 1999. The all-conference talent hit 21 home runs as a junior and was drafted by the Colorado Rockies following his senior season in 2000.
 
Best in the BIG EAST
Butler leads the conference in hits (166), batting average (.314), doubles (35), home runs (24), on-base percentage (.397), and slugging percentage (.540).
 
Bulldog Bits
- BU leads the BIG EAST in sacrifice flies with 13
- The Bulldogs average 7.9 runs per game
- Butler, Creighton and Georgetown are the only BIG EAST teams with a shutout this year
- Jack Bello and Jack Moroknek have the highest batting averages in the BIG EAST
- Bello and Moroknek rank first and second in the league in doubles
- Moroknek and Aiden Robbins are battling for the lead league in hits (28)
- Moroknek is the outright leader in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs, and total bases
- Harry Carr heads into the weekend on a six-game hitting streak
- Carr has reached base safely in 14-straight games
- Tre Benjamin struck out a season-high two batters in 2.1 innings at Purdue
- Ryan Drumm hit a solo home run at Purdue to push his season total to two
- Gunnar Duncan earned the first start of his career behind the plate in West Lafayette
- Alex Thomas threw a clean inning at Purdue
 
BIG EAST Standings
Creighton 8-4
Villanova 8-7
Georgetown 7-10
Xavier 7-11
Butler 6-9
UConn 5-8
Seton Hall 4-10
St. John's 3-11
 
Up Next
Butler will take trips to Notre Dame and Ball State next week. The Fighting Irish host the action on Tuesday while BU makes the drive to Muncie on Wednesday. First pitch in South Bend is set for 4:30 p.m. The Cardinals will host their game at 3 p.m.