The downtown digs of the Indianapolis Indians became the home of Butler baseball yesterday as the Bulldogs (18-15, 6-6) faced Ball State at Victory Field.

Two eighth-inning home runs gave Butler an 8-6 comeback win over the Cardinals (7-22, 3-6).

After grabbing an early 1-0 lead, the Bulldogs gave up six runs in the third inning.

Senior pitcher Dom Silvestri was charged with all six of Ball State’s runs.

The first two Cardinal batters of the inning walked and singled, setting up four consecutive run-scoring at-bats.

Butler whittled away at the lead by scoring two runs in the fifth inning and another one in the sixth, cutting the score to 6-4.

Junior designated hitter Pat Gelwicks struck a two-run home run to tie the game at six in the eighth inning.

Two batters later, junior first baseman Jimmy Risi hit a go-ahead two-run home run to give the Bulldogs an 8-6 advantage.

With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning, junior pitcher Chase Byerly held off the Ball State rally by striking out sophomore shortstop T.J. Weir and forcing a groundout from sophomore first baseman Cody Campbell.

Prior to the contest, junior catcher Radley Haddad said playing in a professional ballpark like Victory Field is the dream for many players.

“All of us as college baseball players have the goal to play at the next level,” Haddad said. “Playing in a bigger stadium, getting our name out there and putting Butler on the map is pretty cool.”

Junior infielder Lucas Calderon said he was also excited to play at Victory Field.

“Ever since you’re a little kid, you want to play on a professional field and in one of the nicest minor league ballparks,” Calderon said.

Calderon’s family in Florida was also able to watch the game since it was televised.

“[I’m looking forward to] the chance to play in a televised game because that means my family back home in Miami will be able to watch me,” Calderon said before the game.

Prior to taking on the Cardinals, the Bulldogs visited Horizon League opponent Milwaukee for a three-game series.

Butler fell to the Panthers (11-17, 6-6) in the rubber game Saturday, losing 16-4. The Bulldogs committed four errors that helped the Panthers score five unearned runs.

Butler junior centerfielder Jack Dillon picked up two hits and an RBI in the loss.

Butler picked up a 3-2 win in Friday’s game at Milwaukee thanks to an odd first inning inside-the-park home run in the first inning by senior right fielder Mike Hoscheit.

With runners on first and second, Hoscheit hit a fly ball to right field, and the foot of Milwaukee sophomore right fielder Ryan Solberg became stuck in the fence as he was fielding the ball.

With Solberg unable to break free from the fence to make the play, Hoscheit, Gelwicks and Risi scored the Bulldogs’ only runs of the game.

Butler lost the series opener Thursday in a 14-2 loss to Milwaukee.

The Bulldogs will host Illinois-Chicago for a three-game series starting Friday.

The Butler men’s tennis team fell to Detroit 4-3 in a Horizon League match Saturday.

Photo by Marcy Thornsberry

Freshmen Austin Woldmoe and Tommy Marx collected victories in singles action for the Bulldogs (3-14, 2-1).

Woldmoe defeated Detroit senior Nick Tolomei 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 singles and Marx grabbed a 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory against Detroit junior Alex Latosinsky at No. 2 singles.

While the Bulldogs won the doubles point by taking two of the three matches, the Titans (6-11, 1-2) won the other four singles matches to get past Butler.

In a non-conference match later that day, Butler fell 4-3 to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Last season, the Jaguars (8-13) beat the Bulldogs for the first time in the program’s history.

With the victory Saturday, IUPUI defeated Butler in two consecutive matches for the first time ever.

The outcome of the match against the Jaguars was similar to that of the match against Detroit.

The Bulldogs took the doubles point again, managing to win all three matches this time around.

For the second time that day, however, Butler was held to two singles victories.

Last Thursday the Bulldogs left Ball State with a 6-1 loss to the Cardinals (14-7).

Butler will travel to Wright State Saturday looking for its third win in league play.

The Butler men’s tennis team had its most successful stretch of the season, winning two conference matches.

The Bulldogs (3-13, 2-0) won 5-2 at Illinois-Chicago 5-2 on Sunday.

Despite being swept in doubles play, Butler managed to claim victories all six singles match against the Flames (2-11, 0-2).

Freshman Austin Woldmoe led the Bulldogs with a 7-5, 6-3 victory at No. 1 singles. Woldmoe was named the Horizon League Men’s Tennis Player of the Week after Butler’s two wins.

The Bulldogs also recorded a 5-2 win at Valparaiso on Saturday.

The Bulldogs defeated the Crusaders (6-7, 0-2) in four of six singles matches and two of three doubles matches.

Woldmoe and freshmen Pulok Bhattacharya, Billy Weldon and Sam O’Neill all walked away with wins in singles action.

Woldmoe and Weldon were victorious in No. 1 doubles play while Bhattacharya and O’Neill grabbed a win at No. 3 doubles.

The men will take on Ball State today at 2:30 p.m.

The Butler women’s tennis team dropped a pair of matches over the weekend, extending its losing streak to seven.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs (2-10) fell to Illinois State 6-1 at home.

Junior Brittany Farmer was the only Bulldog to pick up a win against the Redbirds (5-5), defeating sophomore Phyllis Tigges 6-2, 6-4 in singles action.

On Friday, the Bulldogs fell to Western Michigan 7-0.

Butler’s lone victory against the Broncos (9-6) came in doubles competition.

Sophomores Stephanie McLoughlin and Gabrielle Rubenstein came out on top against Western Michigan senior April Kerr and freshman Caroline Aleck 8-7 (7-1) in No. 1 doubles.

On Wednesday, Butler lost to Ball State 6-1.

The Bulldogs will host Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Friday.

The magic of Butler University exists on and off the court, and that is why this school is special.

I did not find out about Butler, nor did I apply here, because of basketball fame.  The university sent me a letter, and my mother pushed me to look into the school.

I fell in love with Butler not because of what I saw at Hinkle Fieldhouse but because of what I saw in the campus as a whole.

If the Butler men’s basketball team does not find a way into the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, everything will be OK.

There is much to look forward to next season, and there is, after all, more to this school than what happens at Hinkle.

After wins against Youngstown State, Cleveland State, Loyola of Chicago and Indiana State, the Bulldogs seem to have their February mojo working in full force.

But is it too late?  I believe so.

The team has struggled with consistency for much of the season, losing games to Evansville, Valparaiso and Ball State, as well as a pair against Detroit.

After last night’s victory over Illinois-Chicago, a victory against Valparaiso on Friday would give the team a 19-12 record in the regular season.

Hopefully that can propel the team to one of the top two seeds in the Horizon League tournament.

The Bulldogs will then need to win the conference tournament to have a hope of returning to March Madness. I do not see that happening.

Despite what happens with the remainder of this season, the program has a bright future.

Coach Brad Stevens has one of the nation’s best 3-point shooters in senior transfer Rotnei Clarke, who will play his final year of eligibility for the Bulldogs next season.

Stevens also has a solid recruiting class, staring 6-foot-5 shooting guard Kellen Dunham, coming to campus next season.

I expect that these two will provide effective outside shooting—something that the team has been lacking this season.

More than anything that will be seen in Hinkle over the next few years, I find comfort in the fact that even without the two deep runs in the tournament, Butler would still be the fantastic school it is today.

Butler students are blessed to attend such an amazing school.  While the school has garnered fame from basketball, but without a good background, it would not mean much.

The Butler women’s basketball team suffered another setback yesterday, falling 49-46 at Indiana State.

The game marked the sixth straight loss for the Bulldogs (1-7). Of those six losses, five have been decided by 10 points or fewer.

The Sycamores (5-3) got off to a quick start, taking an 8-1 lead after the first five minutes.

However, Butler freshman forward Haley Howard and junior forward Becca Bornhorst accounted for the Bulldogs’ next 13 points, pulling Butler within two.

Howard scored a game-high 17 points.

Photo by Maria Porter

Bornhorst, in her third game back after an injury, posted 14 points in 22 minutes of work, including a 3-pointer before halftime to cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to just one.

“We’ve made progress in areas we’ve been working on,” Bornhorst said, “such as boxing out and having ball pressure on defense. We just have yet to play a full 40 minutes being completely focused on the little things.”

Butler focused on those little things in the second half and appeared primed to snap its losing streak, leading 44-43 with 2:31 remaining.

But, four straight Indiana State free throws gave the Sycamores a three-point lead.

Trailing 49-46 with just four seconds remaining, senior guard Devin Brierly misfired on the front end of a one-and-one. Bornhorst’s ensuing 3-pointer fell off the mark, allowing the Sycamores to pick up their third consecutive win.

“You certainly don’t want to be [1-7], but when you look on the tape and on the floor, I feel like our players are getting better,” coach Beth Couture said. “Our kids are playing really hard right now, but we’re just making a lot of mistakes.”

Three days earlier, the Bulldogs fell to the Bowling Green Falcons 71-61. Butler trailed by just five at halftime, but the Falcons (5-2) pulled away, leading by as many as 17 points in the second half.

Freshman guard Hannah Douglas led Butler with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Douglas also pulled down a team-best five rebounds.

“We asked Hannah to be more aggressive and look to score,” Couture said. “She and all of our freshmen are bright spots. It’s just a matter of getting them all on the same page at the same time.”

The Bulldogs will host Ball State this Friday at 7 p.m. in Hinkle Fieldhouse.