INDIANAPOLIS – Butler baseball head coach Dave Schrage has signed a multi-year contract extension to continue his leadership of the Bulldogs’ program. Butler Vice President/Director of Athletics Barry Collier made the announcement on Dec. 2.
“Dave’s passionate and positive coaching of our student-athletes and leadership program is reflected in his commitment to the Butler Way,” Collier stated. “We are excited about the future of Butler Baseball under Dave’s direction.”
Schrage has helped Butler win 91 games over his first three seasons as head coach. He guided Butler to their first-ever BIG EAST Tournament appearance in 2018, and has had three players drafted into the MLB over the past two years.
“I am very excited and humbled to have the opportunity to keep growing our baseball program at Butler,” Schrage stated. “I want to thank Barry Collier and our administration for giving me this chance and also for their continued support of the program. Butler University is a great place to work and we look forward to the future of our baseball program.”
Schrage heads into his fourth season at Butler in 2020. During his first year in 2017, Schrage helped BU set the school record for highest fielding percentage (.973). Great defense and improved pitching helped the ‘Dawgs reach 31 wins, marking the first 30-win season at Butler since 2003. The turnaround under Schrage was one of the biggest improvements in the NCAA, with BU winning 17 more games in 2017 than they did in 2016.
The ‘Dawgs immediately found success against in-state rivals with Schrage at the helm. Butler earned wins over Fort Wayne (3x), DePauw, Ball State, Indiana and Purdue in 2017. It was the first time BU had defeated both Indiana and Purdue in the same season since 1995. Butler’s win at Purdue that season came on a no-hitter, marking just the sixth in program history.
Butler kept moving in the right direction in 2018 by reaching 34 wins in 2018. The ‘Dawgs tied the school record for most wins in a single-season and for the longest-winning streak by starting the year at 9-0. 2018 ended with a trip to the conference tournament where BU defeated Seton Hall in 13 innings to pick up their 34th victory. Connor Mitchell would be selected in the MLB draft a month later to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Player development has been key to the program under the direction of Schrage. In 2019, both Ryan Pepiot and Harrison Freed left for the MLB after their junior seasons. Pepiot was drafted in the third round to the Los Angeles Dodgers while teammate Freed went to the San Francisco Giants in the 13th Round.
Pepiot set the single-season (126) and career (306) strikeout record at BU that year. Freed also etched his name into the record book with 149 total bases and 82 hits.
The Bulldogs will get the 2020 season underway on Feb. 14 this year with games lined up in Lexington, S.C. BU will play two games against North Carolina A&T State and two against George Mason.
