INDIANAPOLIS — The Butler baseball team’s 2015 schedule has been unveiled by Head Coach Steve Farley after posting an overall record of 20-30 in the 2014 season, while going 7-11 in BIG EAST play. The Bulldogs will return junior infielder Chris Maranto and his .309 batting average with hopes of qualifying for the 2015 BIG EAST Conference Tournament at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., which will be held May 21-24, 2015.
Butler begins the season with a trip to Nashville to face Lipscomb in a three-game series from Feb. 13-15. The Bulldogs take the road in the second week of the season to face two opponents who finished the 2014 season ranked, including one who advanced to last year’s College World Series.
The team travels to Malibu, Calif. to face Pepperdine (No. 12 in the final National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll of 2014) for a three-game series from Feb. 20-22. Butler will then head to Louisville on Feb. 24 to take on the Cardinals (No. 6 in final NCBWA poll), participants in last season’s College World Series.
Butler will travel to Winter Haven, Fla. over spring break for five games against four different opponents. The Bulldogs will face Bowling Green, Long Island, Bucknell (2x) and Illinois State as part of the RussMatt Classic. Game times for those contests will be released in February.
Other notable games include the home opener against IPFW on Friday, March 6 at 3 p.m. and a visit to Bulldog Park by Purdue on Sunday, March 29 at 2 p.m.
BIG EAST play begins with a game against St. John’s at Victory Field in downtown Indianapolis on Thursday, April 2 at 3 p.m. The two teams will square off again the following day at 3 p.m. for the first BIG EAST game of the season at Bulldog Park.
Non-conference opponents that the Bulldogs will face in 2015 include Lipscomb, Pepperdine, Louisville, East Tennessee State, Marian, IPFW, Cleary, Wabash, Indiana Tech, Purdue, Indiana State, Dayton, West Virginia, Ball State, Northern Kentucky, and Eastern Illinois.
In BIG EAST play, Butler will host St. John’s, Creighton, and Villanova while making trips to Seton Hall, Georgetown, and Xavier, where the team will play its final regular season game.
The Bulldogs will begin the season with 11 straight road games at Lipscomb, Pepperdine, Louisville, East Tennessee State, and Marian before hosting IPFW in the home opener March 6. The team will also be away from home for an eight-game road trip in April when they’ll visit Dayton, West Virginia, Ball State, and Seton Hall.
Singles games against Dayton, Ball State, Northern Kentucky, and Eastern Illinois will all be played on weekdays during the BIG EAST schedule.
