Butler's first home BIG EAST series will bring Villanova to Indianapolis. Action gets underway Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. Saturday's tilt is set for 2 p.m. and the Sunday game was moved to 11 a.m. due to Nova's travel schedule.
 
Weekend Schedule
Friday, April 11 – 3 PM
Saturday, April 12 – 2 PM
Sunday, April 13 – 11 AM
 
Scouting Villanova
The Wildcats didn't play during the week, keeping their overall record at 17-13 heading into the Butler series. They recently went 2-1 at home against Georgetown to open conference play. The Hoyas won the opener 4-2, but Nova took control the rest of the way winning 9-2 and 5-2.
 
Michael Whooley, Brayden Leonard and Jason Neff are the top three hitters in the Wildcat lineup. Whooley does it all with a team-high 36 hits, including five doubles, two triples and six home runs. Neff is the team leader in doubles (6), home runs (11) and RBI's (38).
 
Weekend arms include Bobby Olsen, Luke McCollough and Jake Francis. Olsen leads the team in strikeouts (44) and innings pitched (42.2) but is just 1-3 in his eight starts. Francis is still perfect at 5-0. He has made six starts and is near the team lead in total appearances with 12. Right-hander Alec Sachais is the reigning BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week. Against Georgetown, Sachais picked up saves in back-to-back days.
 
Last Year vs. Villanova
Butler won the weekend series against Villanova last year, earning wins over the Wildcats on Saturday and Sunday. The opener was a 3-2 win for Nova with the 'Cats scoring two in the bottom of the eighth to come back and steal one from BU. Game two was a wild one that Butler would eventually win in the 11th inning 10-9. Butler had 21 hits in that victory and came back the next day to record 14 in a 9-6 win in the getaway game.
 
BIG EAST Home Openers
Butler's last series win in their BIG EAST home opener came in 2021 against Villanova. BU won game one 10-5 and game three 11-3. The Bulldogs have been swept the last two years in their first home conference series.
 
Butler at Bulldog Park
BU has only played four games at home this season. They went 3-1 against Northern Illinois, marking their first outright weekend series win at home since 2022. Butler ended the 2022 campaign winning two of three against Seton Hall. They had a split series win over a weekend in 2023 winning games against Northwestern and Eastern Michigan. A year ago, Butler went 2-2 at home against Dayton winning the final two contests.
 
Parking Reminder
Bulldog fans are encouraged to park in the main Hinkle Fieldhouse lot and walk down to Bulldog Park or attempt to find a spot on the north side of 52nd street. The lot located near the diamond is permit only.
 
About Butler
The Bulldogs are 11-21 this year but are coming off a great win at Evansville. That victory paired with the team's 3-1 record at home gives the BU faithful a reason to be excited about the upcoming series against Villanova. The powerful one-two punch of Jack Moroknek and Jack Bello highlights the Bulldog lineup. Each player has over 50 hits this season and the duo combined has 25 doubles. AJ Solomon and Tommy Townsend give the 'Dawgs great depth in the order. Solomon is batting .345 and leads the team with his .482 on-base percentage. Townsend is near the .300 mark and can change the game quickly with his power. The talented lefty has seven home runs this year helping post 27 RBI's.
 
The Bulldogs have some options on the mound for this weekend. Marcus Goodpaster will definitely be in the mix for a start. He is 2-2 on the year with a 7.23 ERA. Goodpaster leads the club in innings pitched (37.1) and strikeouts (24). Andrew Hendrickx and Justin Hornschemeier are getting healthy while Nate Rosser, Tate Foxson and Corbin Snyder look to continue to eat up innings.
 
Run-Rule
Butler has run-ruled two opponents this year. They topped Norfolk State 10-0 in seven innings back on Feb. 22 and most recently defeated Evansville 17-5 on Tuesday.
 
Season-High Totals
The Bulldogs scored a season-high 17 runs on Tuesday night. Those 17 runs came off a season-high15 RBIs. Other season-high totals set vs. the Aces included four sacrifice flies and six Bulldogs being hit by a pitch.
 
Best in the BIG EAST
Butler leads the conference in hits (322), batting average (.304), doubles (62), home runs (45), on-base percentage (.401), runs, (243), sacrifice flies (23), and slugging percentage (.509).
 
Bulldog Bits
- Jack Moroknek leads the league in hits (55) and Jack Bello ranks third (50)
- Moroknek has a team-high 19 multi-hit games this year
- Bello leads the BIG EAST with 13 doubles
- Moroknek leads the BIG EAST and ranks 14th in the NCAA with 13 home runs
- Moroknek also leads the league in runs (41), RBI's (42), slugging percentage (.803) and total bases (106)
- Bello is second in the BIG EAST in total bases (85) and slugging percentage (.708)
- David Ayers has reached base safely in nine-straight games
- Danny Barbero had two hits, two RBI's and two runs scored at Evansville
- Harry Carr has walked four times over his last five games
- Ian Choi walked three times on Tuesday and scored three runs
- Jack Griffiths three-strikeout game at Evansville was a season-high
- Simon Linde made his first start of the season at Evansville
- Alex Thomas had three strikeouts and didn't walk any Aces on Tuesday
- Tommy Townsend has four RBI's over his last three games
 
BIG EAST Standings
St. John's 3-0, 15-13
Xavier 5-1, 19-14
Creighton 2-1, 19-9
Villanova 2-1, 17-13
UConn 2-4, 13-17
Georgetown 1-2, 12-20
Butler 0-3, 11-21
Seton Hall 0-3, 11-21
 
Up Next
Butler will host Ball State on Tuesday, April 15. The game will begin at 4 p.m.