INDIANAPOLIS - The Butler Bulldogs travel to Huntington, West Virginia, this weekend for a three-game series against the Marshall Thundering Herd. Game one of the series is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 27, with first pitch slotted for 3 p.m. ET.
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GAMEDAY INFORMATION
DATE: Friday, Feb. 27 - Sunday, March 1
GAME TIMES: Friday - 3 PM ET, Saturday - 4 PM ET, Sunday - 1 PM ET
LOCATION: Huntington, W. Va. 
LIVE STATS: Butlersports.com
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ABOUT THE BULLDOGS

• The Bulldogs are coming off a week in which they played five games in as many days, including a doubleheader on Saturday against Murray State. Butler went 1-4 over that stretch, bringing its record to 2-6 on the season. 
• Butler picked up a 10-8 victory at Illinois last week, marking Butler's first win over a BIG Ten opponent since 2024 when BU took down Indiana 6-2, at Bulldog Park.
• Gavin Gilmore leads Butler at the plate, batting .389 to start the season. Gilmore ranks first on the team with 14 hits while recording eight RBIs and seven runs.
• Matthew Rhoades leads BU in OPS, slugging percentage, home runs and total bases. The power-hitting first baseman has started in all eight games for Butler. 
• Max Winders has been dominant on the mound for the Bulldogs. In three appearances (one start), Winders has posted a 3.00 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. The sophomore leads Butler with 14 strikeouts and has yet to issue a walk. 
• Butler returns 17 letterwinners from a year ago and welcomes 21 new faces to the squad for 2026.
• Butler welcomed Ty Neal to the coaching staff this offseason as the program's pitching coach. Neal was an assistant coach at Michigan in 2025, helping the Wolverines post a 33-23 overall record. They went 16-14 in the Big Ten standings and held a 4.92 team ERA. Neal has made stops at Michigan, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Indiana, Miami Ohio, and Southern Illinois. He brings nearly 20 years of coaching experience to the program and has assisted in the recruiting and development of over 50 MLB draft picks.
• Freshman Grayson Bradberry was named the BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year by D1Baseball and Perfect Game prior to the start of the season. Bradberry hails from Columbia City, Indiana and earned All-Conference honors (3x), Pre-Season All-State honors, team MVP (2x), NE8 Conference Player of the Year and was chosen as a two-time team captain.
• In 2025, Butler saw Jack Moroknek get drafted in the 11th round by the Washington Nationals. Moroknek led the team in hits (81), batting average (.372), total bases (153), RBIs (57), home runs (18), runs scored (57), slugging percentage (.702) and OPS (1.145) while posting one of the best individual seasons in Butler history. Moroknek was the first Bulldog drafted since Ryan Pepiot was taken in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft.
• Head Coach Blake Beemer enters his fourth season at the helm of the Bulldogs. Beemer helped coach back-to-back BIG EAST Freshman of the Year winners Joey Urban (2023) and Kade Lewis (2024) in his first two seasons with the Bulldogs. Beemer played a pivotal role in developing Jack Moroknek who earned All-BIG EAST second team honors a season ago before being selected by the Washington Nationals in the 2025 MLB Draft.

 
SCOUTING MARSHALL

• Marshall enters the weekend with a 2-5 record. The Thundering Herd opened the season by taking two games against Evansville but have dropped five straight since. The weekend series against the Dawgs marks their first homestand of the season. 
• Evan Bottone is off to a hot start. The Akron transfer is slashing .542/.633/1.000 at the plate. Bottone leads the Herd with 13 hits and three home runs. 
• On the mound, Bryce Blevins comes in with a 1-1 record and has allowed just three earned runs in 13 innings pitched, good for a 2.08 ERA. The senior southpaw is coming off a quality start against The Citadel, tossing six innings while allowing three earned runs. 

 
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return to Indianapolis for their first homestand of the year, as they will play host to Morehead State. Game one is scheduled for Friday, March 6, with first pitch coming at 3 p.m. More information will be available on butlersports.com.