Switching positions in sports is not always the easiest thing to do.

An individual switching the way he or she plays a sport is even more difficult.

Collegian file photo

Butler junior pitcher Chase Byerly has done the latter for the baseball team this season by changing his throwing motion.

During Byerly’s freshman season, Butler coach Steve Farley asked him to switch from his traditional overhand pitching style to the “submarine” style.

This style of throwing has a pitcher drop his arm and release the ball underhand and just above the ground.

“That just opened up a lot of doors for me and gave me some good opportunities to come in and make an impact right away as a freshman,” Byerly said.

Byerly has handled both the switch in mechanics and the pressure-packed role of closer well with the Bulldogs.

This was put on display when he broke two Butler saves records this year.

Byerly broke the school’s previous single-season record of eight earlier this month with his ninth save of the season in a win against Ball State on April 10.

He also surpassed the previous Butler career-high saves record of 12 and currently sits at 13.

With this unique pitching style, Byerly said he pitches for contact and relies on his infielders to make the plays.

“This submarine-style delivery causes batters to hit a lot of ground balls,” Farley said. “Chase throws a lot of strikes, and he is very tough to hit.”

Byerly said he traded velocity for movement with his new delivery. In high school, he said he used to overpower hitters and record many strikeouts, but now he pitches for contact.

His opponents have a .280 batting average against him, and he has not allowed any home runs.

Byerly said the change initially took a toll on his elbow and hips, but he was able to adjust to it.

“It’s been really effective,” Byerly said, “and I’ve been really thankful and grateful to coach Farley for giving me that chance.”

Last summer, Byerly played for the Sliders, a Prospect League team out of Slippery Rock, Pa. He won the relief pitcher of the year award in the league.

“That’s really where my closing development kind of picked up,” Byerly said.

Byerly was teammates with Butler junior catcher Radley Haddad in the league, and he said it was important in developing their relationship at the collegiate level.

“I need to be a little more focused, because the ball is coming from a different place,” Byerly said.

Byerly and Haddad were roommates while playing for the Sliders, and Haddad said they “literally spent every hour of the summer together.”

Haddad calls Byerly “not your typical closer,” because he doesn’t throw hard and over the top, making him much more difficult for opponents to get a hit off of.

“Not only is it physically tough to hit that pitch, but it’s mentally tough too,” Haddad said.

Byerly will look to add to his climbing saves total during the remainder of the Bulldogs’ eight-game road trip.

He will get his first shot at grabbing his 14th career save against the University of Indianapolis today.

“I’m really proud of him,” Haddad said of Byerly holding the saves record. “It couldn’t have happened to a better dude.”

The Butler baseball team put together one of its best strings of pitching so far this season.

But Valparaiso threw even better and came away with a three-game series sweep over the weekend.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs (19-21, 7-11) saw the Crusaders (18-20, 12-6) tally two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to come away with a 3-2 victory.

The contest was the second game of a doubleheader.

“The cold, windy conditions made it very challenging for both teams,” Butler coach Steve Farley said.

Valparaiso freshman shortstop Spencer Mahoney drove in the game-winning run on a bases-loaded walk.

Junior third baseman Elliott Martin drove in the Crusaders’ first ninth-inning run with a single.

Junior pitcher Chase Byerly allowed both runs, which were unearned, and suffered the loss. Butler got out to an early lead with an RBI single from junior first baseman Jimmy Risi.

Freshman pitcher Eric Stout started for the Bulldogs and gave up one run over five innings, tallying three strikeouts.

Stout was able to get out of a fifth-inning bases loaded jam without any damage done before turning things over to Byerly.

The Bulldogs added another run in the fifth inning on a home run by sophomore centerfielder Marcos Calderon.

Mahoney, Martin and senior catcher Billy Cribbs led the Crusaders, putting up one RBI apiece in the nightcap.

The day’s first game saw another pitchers’ duel, with Valparaiso winning 1-0.

Butler senior pitcher Brad Schnitzer pitched all eight innings for the Bulldogs, allowing one earned run, five hits and one walk.

The run came on a second-inning RBI single by senior right fielder Steven Scoby.

Junior designated hitter Pat Gelwicks led Butler with three of the team’s four hits. Gelwicks also found himself in scoring position three times, but the Bulldogs could not capitalize.

Crusaders senior pitcher Kevin Wild tossed a complete game shutout, allowing three walks and striking out five in addition to the four hits allowed.

On Friday, Butler senior pitcher Dom Silvestri gave up four earned runs in the first inning. It proved to be too much for the Bulldogs to overcome, as Valparaiso walked away with a 4-2 win. Silvestri silenced the Crusaders for the next six innings, but Butler could only manage two runs on four hits.

Silvestri struck out four, walked two and gave up six hits in his seven innings of work.

Butler will face the University of Indianapolis this afternoon before three games against Horizon League-leading Wright State this weekend.

“A lot of people feel outside of the league like Wright State is so much better and that they’re just going to run through the conference tournament,” Byerly said. “We want to send them a message this weekend and let them know that’s not the case.”

In 2007 men’s lacrosse was discontinued as an NCAA Division I athletic program at Butler.

But in response, a few players from that team created a men’s lacrosse club team at the school shortly after.

Photo by Marcy Thornsberry

Josh Phelps, junior team vice president, said the popularity of lacrosse is on the rise all across the nation.

“The sport is more popular on the East Coast than most places, but that is spreading all over Indiana,” Phelps said.

Butler’s team originally played at the D-I level from 1993 until the program was cut in 2007.

Initially the players on the club team coached themselves, but the school now employs head coach Kyle Mates.

Mates grew up in Indianapolis and played high school lacrosse at Cathedral High School.

Mates played college lacrosse at Bellarmine and Trine. He also played semi-professionally in Ontario, Canada, for two years.

“I got the job at BU when my men’s club team scrimmaged Butler, and they showed interest,” Mates said. “I grew up watching Butler sports, so I felt it was a great fit for me.”

The Bulldogs compete in the Central Division of the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association. The CCLA is a division of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association, which is a premiere national club lacrosse program.

This is the team’s second year in the CCLA.

Schools that compete within the CCLA Central Division include Indiana Tech, Oakland, Taylor and Michigan-Dearborn.

Butler is 2-2 in the division and 4-7 overall this season.

The Bulldogs also play teams from the surrounding area that are a part of the MCLA.

Phelps said that the Butler men’s lacrosse program was cut along with the men’s swimming program because of Title IX.

Title IX is a federal law that protects equal opportunities for women to participate in sports and extracurricular activities.

The team lived on as a club to continue to provide a competitive opportunity for Butler students.

Phelps said he never played lacrosse until he came to college but joined the club for the competitive edge.

“I wanted to continue playing competitive sports but not at the D-I level,” Phelps said.

Phelps said he believes the popularity of lacrosse at Butler has increased because it is an fast-paced contact sport, and sporting fans are intrigued by it.

“We’ve had a better turnout this spring than we did in the fall,” freshman attacker Andrew Taschler said.

Taschler has played lacrosse for eight years and said he has seen it go from non-existent to a sport with rising popularity in Indiana.

“Attendance has been better recently because we’re playing in the Butler Bowl,” Phelps said. “There aren’t many diehard Bulldogs fans, but there have been more Butler students at home games than most other teams we’ve played in the MCLA.”

Butler dropped two games over the weekend at home against Oakland and John Carroll.

The game against the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland ended in a 10-9 sudden-death overtime loss for the Bulldogs.

“As a team, we are having a successful season and are currently tied for second in our division,” Mates said.

The top two teams in each division make the playoffs, and Butler’s playoff hopes are on the line this weekend.

The Bulldogs have two more games this weekend to finish up their regular season.

They will head to Michigan to face Calvin and Northwood.