The Butler football team is playing the waiting game.

With 19 weeks remaining until they open their season at South Dakota State, the Bulldogs played their annual Blue and White spring game Saturday.

Quarterback Matt Lancaster, who will be a senior in the fall, was in prime form. He completed three of four passes on the Blue team’s opening drive, capping it off with a 30-yard touchdown run.

The Blue team went on to win 20-0.

“It’s fun to come out here and play a game and play against a real defense,” Lancaster said.

Alongside Lancaster on the Blue squad was junior running back Trae Heeter.  Heeter also scored a touchdown.

“The summer is the most important part of the season, and it helps us get ready going into fall camp,” Heeter said. “Once we come back in August, we’ll all be ready to go and get ready for the Jackrabbits on the 31st.”

Junior defensive lineman Jeremy Stephens anchored the White squad’s defense. Stephens said it felt good to get back on the field despite typical spring ball kinks.

“Spring ball is definitely a developmental thing as far as the team goes,” Stephens said. “It was good to get back out there in game situations.”

For the upcoming season, the Pioneer Football League champion will receive an automatic bid to the Football Championship Series playoffs.

Lancaster said the team’s yearly goal of winning the PFL will remain the same, but it has the added incentive of making the FCS playoffs.

“We won the conference last year, and that’s still our goal this year, except now we get to play for the tournament,” Lancaster said.

The Bulldogs open with the Jackrabbits on Aug. 31 and return home the following week to play against Division III Wittenberg. Two weeks later Butler hosts Ivy League school Dartmouth.

Stephens said the tough schedule should prepare them for PFL play and help them reach the FCS playoffs.

“(South Dakota State) is probably the biggest program we’ve played in the history of this program,” Stephens said. “South Dakota State and Dartmouth will definitely get us ready for those bigger schools that we would potentially play in the postseason.”

Coach Jeff Voris said reaching the playoffs is certainly a team goal, but as they did last season, the Bulldogs will be taking the season one game at a time.

“Our success last season came from the commitment and dedication of playing one-game seasons,” Voris said. “The biggest thing is to get ready for August 7 and have a good camp and attack the non-conference (schedule) one game at a time.”

The Bulldogs will spend the summer doing individual workouts with one date in mind, Voris said.

“If you worry about the playoffs and conference titles, you’re never going to reach your goals because you’ll lose focus,” Voris said. “Our focus right now is South Dakota State in August.”

Senior Butler softball player Devin Dearing waited at the plate during the eighth inning of Sunday’s second game of a doubleheader against Fordham.

“Hit Me Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears rang through the stadium speakers as pinch runner Devin Brierly jogged to second base.

On the first pitch of the at-bat, Dearing hit a double to drive in Brierly for the walk-off win.

Dearing is just one of many Butler players who uses their walk-up song to gain extra confidence.

“It helps in not realizing the pressure of the situation,” Dearing said.

Many players have different takes on the idea of walk-up songs. Dearing said her song reflects her relaxed personality, which helps her get in the zone at the plate.

Walk-up songs are also used to get hitters excited for their at-bat, said senior first baseman Jimmy Risi.

“You have to find a song that pumps you up but also keeps you relaxed and not too amped up,” Risi said.

Risi uses the song “Pretty Handsome Awkward” by The Used to get him ready. Risi said his is one of the more serious songs of all the players.

“Mine is a little more serious and gets me pumped,” Risi said. “But there are some guys who have some goofy songs.”

Junior Marcos Calderon uses the hip-hop song “Goodies” by female artist Ciara.

“Walk-up songs match your personality, and I’m not the most serious guy,” Calderon said.

“It’s important to play relaxed and have a good time when you’re playing. You have to be serious, but you have to enjoy it.”

Calderon, the leadoff hitter, said “Goodies” helps the team relax at the beginning of the game because it brings them back to their middle school days when the song first came out.

“It brings you back to when baseball was easy, school was easy and everything was easy, and it just kind of brings a smile to your face,” Calderon said.

Freshman softball player Riley Carter uses a hip-hop remix of “O Canada.”

Carter, from Uxbridge, Ontario, said a friend from home told her to use something that says “Canada” in it, and she remembered how they used to listen to the song when they were younger.

“When I hear it I get kind of pumped,” Carter said. “It reminds me of home, and I feel good.”

Senior Jenny Esparza organized the girls’ walk-up songs and said she had her teammates pick songs that help them get ready at the plate.

“It can either be what the words mean that actually pump them up or just the beat,” Esparza said.

Senior baseball catcher Radley Haddad said walk-up songs can be approached in two different ways. Some players like to have fun and put on a song that gets the crowd going, like Calderon, Haddad said.

“Marcos is just trying to get in a relaxed mood,” Haddad said. “Last year he used a Gloria Estefan song.”

Haddad said his approach is to be a little more serious and focus in with a song that gets him pumped up. He uses the song “Breaking a Sweat” by Skrillex, a mash-up of an old Doors song.

“I heard it at a Reds game last summer, and I liked it and thought it could be a song for me,” Haddad said. “Players are always thinking about what their next walk-up will be.”

Haddad said no matter what approach hitters take, walk-up songs are a fun aspect of the game.

The Butler baseball team is over the .500 mark after sweeping Atlantic 10 opponent Dayton last weekend. Butler (17-15) sits at 7-5 in conference play, a game and a half behind Rhode Island for the sixth and final spot of the A-10 tournament.

The Bulldogs beat the Flyers (7-24, 2-10) 8-4 Friday, as juniors Marcos Calderon and Marco Caponi each drove in two runs.

The Bulldogs took game two 9-4 Saturday.

In Sunday’s finale, Butler completed the sweep with a 7-2 win. Senior Jack Dillon and freshman Mike Kseniak each drove in two runs while senior Jimmy Risi recorded two doubles.

Butler returns to Indiana this week, playing two games against the Hoosiers in Bloomington Friday and Saturday. Indiana (26-7, 8-4) visits Butler on Sunday.

Last year, the brothers, from Miami, Fla., started playing baseball together for the first time since Marcos’ sophomore year of high school.

“We had a great year that year, and we both played very well,” Lucas said. “We went deep into the playoffs, and we were like, ‘Man, if we can do this again for college, we’ll do it.’”

Lucas, a senior at Butler, played at Saint Louis University his first two collegiate years and jumped at the opportunity to transfer to Butler and play with his brother.

“Ever since we were little, we wanted to play college baseball together,” Lucas Calderon said. “We talked to (Butler) Coach (Steve) Farley over the phone, and he seemed like a good guy, and he gave us the opportunity to play.”

The elder Calderon sat out his junior season, giving him the opportunity to watch his brother play his freshman season.

In 2012, they played together for Butler, as well as for the Licking County Settlers of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.

Lucas said he was fortunate to be able to guide his brother through his freshman year.

“Freshman year is always a tough transition, especially moving from Florida to the Midwest,” Lucas said. “That was pretty cool to see him and how he developed through his freshman year.”

Marcos said the first time he heard about Butler was when he was watching Butler’s basketball team play in the Final Four while on a travel baseball trip in high school.

“A couple weeks later, I got in contact with these coaches, and they wanted to see if I could bring my talents here to Indianapolis,” he said.

He said they asked him and his brother about the opportunity to play together, and it was something they couldn’t pass up.

Junior infielder and teammate Marco Caponi has one word to describe the brothers: “goofballs.”

“That’s about the best way I can describe them,” Caponi said. “They’re always laughing and having a good time, and they’re awesome to be around.”

Caponi said the brothers are always competing and trying to outdo each other, but they also pull for each other to do well.

“I have a younger brother, so I’m also jealous of these guys,” Caponi said.

Caponi said it’s fun to see them play together and have a good time.

“Sometimes, you’ll hear Spanish every now and again,” Caponi said. “They’ll crack jokes, and nobody knows what they’re saying, but they obviously do.”

Marcos said sometimes they talk to each other in Spanish on the field, giving them an extra connection.

“We don’t have to give each other the normal baseball signs,” Marcos said. “We speak in a coded language, so that’s pretty cool.”

Lucas said in one game over the summer, he was standing on second base and saw the catcher calling for a curve ball. He relayed that in Spanish to his brother, and he was able to get an RBI.

“Everyone in the dugout was asking what I was yelling that for, and I said, ‘I was giving him the pitches,’” he said.

Lucas said he and his brother feed off each other’s success and make it into a competition.

“He’s (Marcos) our lead-off hitter, and when he gets a hit, I have to wait a few batters, and I’m like, ‘I’ve got to get a hit too,’” Lucas said. “I can’t let him get more hits than me.”

Since starting 10-6, the Bulldogs have dropped to 13-15. But Lucas said playing with his brother is fun whether they’re winning or losing, but that winning adds even more.

“We won earlier in the season, and we’re in a little bit of a funk right now, and hopefully, we’ll break out of it,” Marcos said. “But it should be fun the rest of the year too.”

Butler dropped three games at Bulldog Park against Saint Louis this weekend, falling to 13-15 overall and 4-5 in Atlantic 10 play. This was Butler’s first series at home this season due to bad weather earlier in the year.

On Friday, the Billikens (22-10, 8-1) won 6-3. Saturday’s game ended 10-5 in favor of Saint Louis.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs led 5-2 before the Billikens tied it with a three-run eighth inning. In the ninth, they added two more runs. The Bulldogs had a runner on second base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth but could not capitalize, losing the finale 7-5.

Senior second baseman Lucas Calderon went 5-for-13 on the weekend. His brother, junior outfielder Marcos, went 4-for-12 with two RBIs.

Butler remains at home today, facing Earlham College at 3 p.m. The Quakers, a Division III school, are 6-18 on the season.

The Bulldogs return to A-10 play when they travel to Dayton for a three-game series with the Flyers (7-19, 2-7).

The Butler football team will play a 12-game schedule in the fall with a new goal in place.

As a member of the Pioneer Football League, a non-scholarship conference, the Bulldogs have never had the chance to make the playoffs. Beginning this season, the PFL champion will be awarded an automatic bid for the first time since the league’s formation in 1993.

“It’s obviously very exciting for us,” returning starting quarterback Matt Lancaster said. “That is an early goal for our team.”

PFL programs are allowed to play a 12-game schedule at the Football Championship Series level for the first time since 2010.

Butler assistant coach Joe Cheshire said the Bulldogs, especially the seniors, have been looking forward to playing a 12-game schedule.

“It’s a positive for our players,” Cheshire said. “It gives (our seniors) another opportunity to play another game in their Butler career.”

Butler will begin its campaign on Aug. 31 at South Dakota State, a perennial powerhouse who lost in the second round of the 2012 playoffs.

The Bulldogs open their home schedule under the lights in the Butler Bowl the following Saturday against Wittenberg.

Butler will host an Ivy League team for the first time when Dartmouth visits on Sept. 21.

The Bulldogs’ four other home games are  against Stetson (Oct. 5), Campbell (Oct. 12), Drake (Oct. 19) and Hoosier Helmet rival Valparaiso (Nov. 9).

“As a freshman, I remember thinking it would be a long time before senior year,” Lancaster said. “But now it’s like, ‘Where has the time gone?’

“There’s no better way to end a career than against our rival in the Hoosier Helmet Game.”

All four non-conference opponents—South Dakota State, Wittenberg, Franklin and Dartmouth—had winning records in 2012.

“It will be good to see who we are as a team with the Wittenberg and Franklin games sandwiched between two good teams in South Dakota State and Dartmouth,” senior defensive back Sean Grady said.

“We’ll hopefully get back at Dartmouth for the beating they put on us up there last year.”

Senior defensive lineman Jeremy Stephens said the schedule will challenge Butler right from the start.

“I feel like our schedule will prepare us more than any other year has so far because we play a strong South Dakota State team in our first game,” Stephens said. “We’ll most likely be favored to win the Pioneer League, and we will get everyone’s best shot, which will also prepare us.”

Stephens said the South Dakota State game will be a good test because Butler players will know where their team ranks among the nation’s top competition.

Cheshire said the tough schedule will prepare the Bulldogs and give them a good shot at winning the automatic bid in the PFL.

“For me to say we don’t have a chance, that would be crazy,” Cheshire said. “If we can play our best and play to our potential, there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll be in contention.”

Butler senior pitcher Chase Byerly is in the running for the Lowes’ Senior CLASS Award.

The award is an acronym for “Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School.” Candidates must be NCAA Division I seniors and qualify in the four C’s: community, classroom, character and competition.

Byerly is one of 30 finalists. He is among three finalists from the Atlantic 10 Conference, including Charlotte infielder Shane Basen and Rhode Island utility man Mike Le Bel.

The Senior CLASS Award was founded in 2001 in a partnership between Premiere Sports Management and Lowes’. The award is given to athletes in 10 different sports.

Byerly’s nomination follows three straight nominations for Butler basketball players.

Senior Andrew Smith is a nominee for this year’s basketball award, which will be announced during the Final Four in Atlanta. Ronald Nored was nominated last year for the Bulldogs, and Matt Howard the year before.

No Bulldog has ever won the award, but Byerly believes he has a good shot of doing so this year.

“I’m a really competitive guy, so I think I have a pretty good shot at it,” Byerly said. “I’ve done pretty well this season so far.”

Building off last season when he set the school’s single-season saves record with 10, Byerly is already off to a hot start. His ERA is 2.55 and he has with 16 strikeouts.

Byerly completed a rare feat, picking up three saves in a single series last weekend at Virginia Commonwealth University, pushing his season total to four.

Off the field, Byerly impresses in other ways. He has a 3.98 GPA as a business and finance double major.

Smith, also a business major, said he knows Byerly well and that he is a hard worker.

“I know he works extremely hard,” Smith said. “He’s a very talented individual on and off the field.”

On top of doing well in class, Byerly interned at Eli Lilly last summer and Smith said he always shows dedication.

“He’s one of the hardest-working people I know,” Smith said. “He’s always top of the class, he’s a great presenter, he’s a great speaker.

Byerly said it is tough to be involved on campus while being on the baseball team, but he does make an effort.

“It’s tough to hold a leadership position with any organization on campus, but I am involved,” Byerly said.

Byerly is a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He is also part of the Dawg Pound and various honor societies on campus.

Butler baseball coach Steve Farley said Byerly has made large strides evolving from a walk-on to a leader.

“He started as a walk-on and took on that role,” Farley said. “Now he’s possibly one of the best relief pitchers in the nation.”

Farley had Byerly convert to a side-arm release early on in his career, which has made him tough to hit.

Farley said he thinks Byerly is deserving of the nomination.

“Chase is one of the best guys I’ve ever coached,” Farley said. “He’s like another coach in the dugout. Everything is well deserved.”

The Butler baseball team opened its first and only season in the Atlantic 10 Conference with a sweep of VCU.

The Bulldogs (11-10, 3-0 A-10) won their first A-10 game on Friday 6-4.  On Saturday, Butler won the first game of a double-header 4-3 and the second game 7-4, completing a sweep of the Rams (12-8, 0-3).

Butler didn’t trail the entire weekend.

Senior infielder Lucas Calderon led the way at the plate over the weekend for the Bulldogs, going 6-for-11 with six RBIs. Sophomore Michael Fries went 6-for-15 with two RBIs.

On Friday, sophomore starter Eric Stout got the win on the mound. Senior Kyle Kramp improved his pitching record to 4-0 in game one of Saturday’s twin bill, while senior Billy Laing improved to 1-1 in game two.

Senior CLASS Award nominee Chase Byerly picked up three straight saves, pushing his total to four on the season. Byerly was named co-Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week for the rare feat.

“It’s pretty rare that a pitcher even has the opportunity to save three games in a conference series,” Byerly said. “But my arm felt great, and we kept scoring runs, and I got that opportunity.

“It was the best pitching weekend of my life.”

Weather ended up causing a delay in the team’s flight back to Indy. Its flight Sunday night was delayed, and 28 players were forced to take five separate flights throughout the day Monday. The last five players arrived in Indianapolis around midnight.

Butler coach Steve Farley said he is happy with his team’s performance against the preseason conference favorite.

“I’m proud of our guys for winning three games in a Double-A ballpark against a good team,” Farley said.

The series was played at The Diamond, home of the Richmond Flying Squirrels, an Atlanta Braves affiliate.

Snow postponed yesterday’s home game against Wabash. The Bulldogs travel to St. Bonaventure (5-11, 0-3) Friday to continue conference play. The Bulldogs have yet to play a home game this season.

While many Butler University students like to watch men’s basketball games and try their hand in self-officiating, only a select few actually get the opportunity to take part in the real deal.

Students are getting that opportunity at the Health and Recreation Complex through the intramural program.

Student officials have to go through a two-day training period to become an official, said Emily Gadzichowski, intramural supervisor.

They spend one day in a classroom and one day in on-court training before getting experience in practice games at the HRC.

Colin Holmes, intramural supervisor, said they recruit officials to go through training via social media and callout meetings.

Holmes said the supervisors are in charge of off-court operations and leave it to officials to take care of games.

“We check out a lot of jerseys, we check and make sure scorecards and everything are right, (and) any type of injuries or misconducts are our main duties,” Holmes said. “And then if we see any way we can help out the refs off the court. That’s what we try to do.”

Senior official Jon Collar said he wanted the job because of his love for sports.

“I’ve been doing this for about three years,” Collar said. “I just really like sports, and it seemed like a good job on campus.”

Collar, who primarily officiates basketball and football games, said officiating events can be an exciting experience.

“It depends on the sport and who’s playing, but it can get pretty intense,” Collar said.

Sophomore official Austin Del Priore said he enjoys the experience of the on-campus job but isn’t sure whether he would like to continue officiating after college.

“We spend a lot of time training, and to get to the next level is pretty competitive, probably more than people realize,” he said.

Though it’s merely at the intramural level, most players seem to think the officials do a good job.

“Obviously they’re amateur officials,” Foster said. “They’re not doing a full-time job, but I feel like they’re doing a pretty good job. I’ve witnessed some training in the past, and they do a pretty strenuous process. And I think they do a pretty good job for the situation given.”

You’ve heard the story before. The one about the big star on the team who hits a game-winning shot.

But have you heard the story about the little-known walk-on who takes the same shot and knocks off the number one team in the nation?

Alex Barlow is a walk-on sophomore for the Butler men’s basketball team, and he did just that. On Dec. 15, 2012, Barlow drove toward the basket at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and hit a 6-foot floater in the lane with 2.4 seconds left.

Barlow’s shot took down formerly unbeaten and in-state powerhouse Indiana, securing his name in Butler basketball history. It was the first time the Bulldogs have ever beaten a top-ranked opponent in the regular season.

Barlow’s path to that shot was directed by his dream to one day become a basketball coach.

“You know, I just wanted to be a coach, a college coach,” Barlow said. “I’ve wanted to be that since I was in middle school.”

Barlow turned down many scholarship offers at Division II schools and decided to walk on at Butler to learn under one of the nation’s fastest-rising coaches, Brad Stevens.

“I feel like after looking at all my options, I felt like Butler was the best school for me,” Barlow said. “It just gave me the best chance to play, and Coach Stevens is a great coach and definitely somebody I want to learn under and learn what he knows.”

At Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, Barlow earned All-State honorable mention his senior year on the basketball team. He also earned second-team All-State honors as a shortstop on the baseball team.

Barlow followed in the footsteps of many great baseball players for the Crusaders, including Barry Larkin, Ken Griffey, Jr. and Buddy Bell.

Barlow, however, decided to switch his focus from baseball to basketball the summer before his senior year when he wasn’t receiving much attention from baseball scouts.

“I learned as Alex got older, he always had his own plan, and over time I learned to listen to him,” said Tom Barlow, Alex’s father.  “When he said baseball wasn’t in his heart, I knew he meant it.”

Carl Kremer, his high school basketball coach, said Barlow came to him the spring after his senior season and told him he wanted to become a college basketball coach.

“I told him he would have to consider walking on at a Division I school,” Kremer said.

Kremer has known Stevens for a long time through basketball recruiting. Stevens recruited Mike Monserez, a 2004 Butler graduate, from Moeller.

Kremer directed Barlow toward Butler.

“There would be no better place than Butler,” Kremer told Barlow.

Kremer spoke with Stevens, who said he wanted Barlow on the team. From there, Barlow saw a small amount of playing time his freshman year.

But his minutes increased at last season’s conclusion during the College Basketball Invitational.

Barlow was put on scholarship this semester due to a unique opportunity. After Chrishawn Hopkins and Chris Harrison-Docks transferred, a scholarship became available and was given to Barlow. Barlow’s scholarship will be reviewed at the end of the semester, just like that of every other player.

The Moeller community had its eyes on the Butler-Indiana game, including Barlow’s baseball coach, Tim Held.

Held said he watched most of the game but didn’t see Barlow’s shot live because he was in church.

“My phone was going crazy in my pocket in church, so I knew something was up,” Held said. “I pulled out my phone after church, and that’s when I heard.

“I just felt so proud that he played in our baseball program.”

Kremer was finishing up a youth basketball clinic and saw the end alone in his office. He compared it to the championship scene in the movie “Hoosiers.”

“When Hickory wins the state championship and the character is alone in the hospital and jumping, that’s what I felt like,” Kremer said. “I was all alone in my office, and I jumped and started screaming.”

Kremer said it was one of the most dramatic things he had ever seen.

“I couldn’t be more proud of one of my players, ever,” Kremer said.

As for Barlow’s coaching career, Kremer sees nothing but success.

“I think he’ll be a natural coach,” Kremer said. “There’s a lot of time, and there’s still two-and-a-half years left, and I won’t be surprised if he becomes a graduate assistant somewhere and starts that long journey of a college basketball coaching career.”

Tom Barlow said he could tell Alex would be a coach from a very young age.

“You could tell when he was five or six years old,” Barlow said. “He was always instructing the other kids.”

Senior teammate Rotnei Clarke said he feels Barlow will be a good coach.

“He’s a smart guy, and he’s good with X’s and O’s,” Clarke said. “He knows the game really well, and he’s got a high basketball IQ.”

Freshman teammate Kellen Dunham said Barlow is serious when he needs to be, but he’s an overall goofy guy.

“He’s always trying to play jokes,” Dunham said. “He’s a scare-you-around-the-corner type of guy.”

Barlow has embraced his role as the underdog, Clarke said.

“He likes to think he’s Rudy from Notre Dame,” Clarke said.

Though the team likes to joke around, Dunham said Barlow is a model player and thinks he will be a successful coach.

“Alex is a really hard worker,” Dunham said. “And I look up to him in that aspect.”