As the spring sports season begins to wind down, many teams are already beginning to prepare for their next season.

The football team had its annual blue and white scrimmage, the men’s soccer team had its spring exhibition matches, and five teams have announced additions to their rosters for next year.

Let’s take a look forward and see how some of Butler’s teams will be changing for the 2012-13 school year.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The men’s basketball team finished the 2011-12 season with a 22-15 record, averaging 40.8 percent shooting from the field and 28.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs were ranked eighth and 10th in the Horizon League in those categories, respectively.

The team has a chance to improve with the additions of senior guard and transfer Rotnei Clarke and incoming freshman guard Kellen Dunham.

In three seasons at Arkansas, Clarke averaged more than 15 points per game and shot nearly 44 percent from 3-point range.

Dunham averaged more than 29 points during his senior season at Pendleton Heights High School.

The Bulldogs will also be adding guard Devontae Morgan from Tampa, Fla., and guard Chris Harrison-Docks from Okemos, Mich.

Morgan led his high school team to a state championship last season, averaging more than 15 points and six rebounds per game.

Harrison-Docks averaged 21 points and five steals per game in his senior season.

The team will lose only two players—guard Ronald Nored and forward Garrett Butcher.

Butler will have to make up for the loss of Nored’s defensive prowess, as well as the experience and leadership provided by the pair.

Clarke and seniors Emerson Kampen, Chase Stigall and Andrew Smith will likely be asked to step up and fill those roles.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The women’s basketball team concluded its 2011-12 season with a 13-17 record and said goodbye to two senior guards—Devin Brierly and Kaley May.

Brierly was the only Bulldog to start in all 30 of the team’s games. She recorded more than 32 minutes of playing time per game, averaging 11 points per game.

Sophomore center Sarah Hamm is the only returning player to average more than 10 points per game last season.

Hamm will be joined by sophomore guard Jenna Cobb, freshman forward Hayley Howard and freshman guard Hannah Douglas, who all played key roles on the team last season.

Butler will also be adding four incoming freshman—forward Katie Brewer from Indianapolis, guard Blaire Langlois from Carmel, guard Lexus Murry from Indianapolis and forward-center Olivia Wrencher from West Chester, Ohio.

Brewer is a versatile player who has the ability to knock down three-pointers and battle down low.

Langlois has deep range on her jump shot but also has the ability to make plays with her passing.

Murry averaged more than 22 points per game during her senior season and can also be effective on the defensive end, where she averaged 3.5 steals per game.

Wrencher will bring size to the Bulldogs that will complement the play of Hamm and Howard under the basket.

SOFTBALL

The softball team will lose seven seniors at the conclusion of its current season, including four-year starting outfielder and third baseman Lauren McNulty, Butler’s home run record-holding first baseman Erin Falkenberry and catcher Mallory Winters.

Despite this, coach Scott Hall has five incoming players who could make an immediate impact on the program.

Alex Kotter, a shortstop from Vincennes Lincoln High School, had a .615 career batting average and was an Indiana first team All-State pick.

Chelsea Conover, an outfielder from Brownsburg, led her high school team in stolen bases, runs scored and on-base percentage for three years.

Audrey East is a utility player from New Palestine High School. East is one of the best power hitters in Indiana and boasted a .902 slugging percentage, eight home runs and 47 RBIs last season.

Taylor Lockwood, a pitcher from Southport High School, has good control and will be a solid addition to the pitching staff.

The same could be said for Kristin Gutierrez, a left-handed power pitcher from Highlands Ranch High School in Colorado.

Gutierrez, a 2011 Triple Crown All-American honoree, is a dual threat with her pitching and hitting. She led her conference with 127 strikeouts and recorded a .542 batting average.

The success of the pitching recruits could be key with the loss of senior pitcher Breanna Fisher and injuries to junior pitcher Jenny Esparza this season.

BASEBALL

The baseball team will add four players who could have an immediate impact next season.

Nick Bartolone is a left-handed outfielder from Harrison High School. Coach Steve Farley said he expects Bartolone to compete for position in the outfield next year.

Chris Marras, a catcher from Vernon Hills, Ill., will get the chance to work with two fifth-year senior catchers, Radley Haddad and Nick Hladek.

Nick Saldutti is a power-hitting first baseman from Westfield High School. He hit .477 with a .571 on-base percentage in his junior season.

Drew Small is a utility player from Zionsville. He was an All-State honorable mention.

His versatility and speed will help him compete for a spot in the outfield, especially with the loss of senior outfielder Mike Hoscheit.

The Bulldogs will also lose pitchers Dom Silvestri, Mike Hernandez, Brad Schnitzer, Brian Padove and Ryan Salvino, as well as senior infielder Griffin Richeson.

VOLLEYBALL

The volleyball team is returning eight players who played in at least 50 sets last year and lost only one senior in Maureen Bamiro.

Bamiro, a former middle blocker, finished with the second-best attack percentage in Butler history and sixth all-time in kills and kills per set.

Last season, she was voted All-Horizon League.

The Bulldogs will return sophomore middle blocker Maggie Harbison, who will likely be a key contributor after being voted All-Horizon League last season.

Butler will also add two transfer students.

Freshman Erica Stahl, a transfer from Cincinnati, will be an addition to the middle blocker position.

Stahl only has four sets of collegiate experience under her belt but was named among the top high school volleyball players by the Under Armour Watch list in 2010.

Sophomore Morgan Peterson, a setter from Middle Tennessee State, will have two years of eligibility with the Bulldogs.

She averaged 8.58 assists and 1.41 digs per set last season.

The Butler baseball team piled up runs against Wabash yesterday, taking advantage of five errors and winning by a score of 17-3.

Photo by Marcy Thornsberry

The Bulldogs (16-13, 5-4) broke open the game with five runs in the fourth inning and four runs in the fifth innings against the Little Giants (13-14).

Junior Pat Gelwicks continued to lead Butler offensively. The designated hitter had a home run and five RBI in the contest.

Senior right fielder Mike Hoscheit had a home run and three RBI, and senior shortstop Griffin Richeson had three hits and scored three runs from the leadoff spot.

Seven of the Bulldogs’ 17 runs were unearned.

Last weekend, Butler took two out of three games in a weekend series against the Youngstown State Penguins.

With the victories, the Bulldogs moved into second place in the Horizon League.

On Sunday, the team defeated the Penguins (4-22, 2-7) 18-5 behind a strong performance from Gelwicks.

Gelwicks was a force once again, going 5-for-7 with a home run, a double and three RBI.

Butler jumped out to an early lead, scoring five runs in the top of the first inning.

The Bulldogs added six runs in the top of the sixth inning and collected four more in the top of the ninth inning.

Ten Butler players recorded at least one RBI in the contest.

Senior pitcher Mike Hernandez gave up one earned run and scattered six hits over six innings pitched. Hernandez also struck out two Penguins in the weekend’s rubber game.

On Saturday, the Penguins got the best of the Bulldogs, who committed four errors in the first three innings of the game.

Youngstown State won the game by a 9-3 margin despite tallying only three earned runs.

Sophomore third baseman Drew Dosch went 3-for-5 with four RBI and a double for the Penguins.

Youngstown State sophomore pitcher Patrick O’Brien scored his first victory of the season, while Butler junior pitcher Joel Leichty suffered his first loss of the campaign.

On Friday, Butler senior pitcher and Youngstown native Dom Silvestri had a successful homecoming, leading the Bulldogs to a 7-5 win.

Silvestri pitched six innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits to improve his record to 3-0.

Four Bulldogs recorded a double and Hoscheit hit a home run.

Hoscheit led Butler offensively, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.

Butler led 7-4 after six innings and Youngstown State was unable to rally back.

The Bulldogs will jump back into conference action when they take on Milwaukee in a three-game series from Thursday to Saturday.

The Butler baseball team came from behind to beat Dayton in the team’s home opener Tuesday, winning 8-5.

The Flyers (2-8) scored four runs over the first four innings of play, taking a 4-0 advantage.

The Bulldogs (4-7) scored their first run of the game on an RBI double by junior catcher Nick Hladek in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Photo by Taylor Cox

In the next inning, Butler scored four runs to take its first lead of the day.

Senior outfielder Mike Hoscheit walked with the bases loaded, and senior Griffin Richeson was hit by a pitch in the following at-bat to bring another run home.

Junior outfielder Jack Dillon and freshman shortstop Austin Miller then recorded back-to-back singles with the bases loaded to give the Bulldogs their first lead.

“I’d say Dayton helped us out,” Butler coach Steve Farley said. “They brought in some new guys to pitch and committed some errors.”

Dayton was able to tie the game in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly, but a double by Dillon in the bottom of the inning drove in a pair of runs and gave Butler the lead for good.

The Bulldogs were able to battle back from an early deficit to take the victory three days after doing the same against Belmont.

“We’ve done that a few times this year,” Farley said. “We did that against Fresno State and in Tennessee against Belmont, and I’m impressed.

“The guys don’t quit, even in these tough games where we’re behind.”

Last weekend, the Bulldogs fell in the final game of a three-game series to Belmont, losing 8-2.

Down 2-0 after two innings, Butler junior third baseman Lucas Calderon had a run-scoring sacrifice groundout to cut the lead in half.

Butler was unable to handle the offensive attack of the Bruins (6-5) the rest of the way though.

Butler came from behind twice to beat Belmont 8-7 in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

The Bulldogs were down 5-1 when their bats came to life in the sixth inning.

Butler junior first baseman Jimmy Risi drove in three runs on a bases-loaded double before Hoscheit brought Risi home with a double of his own.

Junior catcher Radley Haddad singled to drive in the team’s fifth run of the inning, giving the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead.

Belmont regained a 7-6 lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Butler responded again in the eighth inning and secured the victory when Hoscheit hit a game-winning, two-run home run.

Butler lost to Belmont 12-4 in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

The Bruins held a 12-0 lead before the Bulldogs tallied four runs in the top of the ninth inning.

Butler begins a four-game series at home against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday.

Butler baseball coach Steve Farley has aspirations of his team “being in the top three in the Horizon League” this season.

There is just one problem: injuries.

The Bulldogs prepared for their opening day tilt against Fresno State on Friday by taking a day off for rest on Monday.

“Getting people healthy [is important],” Farley said. “This is our earliest starting date since I’ve been here.”

Among the hurt Bulldogs are sophomore third baseman Patrick Guinane (ankle), whom Farley called “our best hitter last season,” and junior first baseman Jim Risi (hamstring), a transfer student who Farley said “could be our best hitter this season.”

Also out is senior pitcher Dom Silvestri, who underwent surgery during the offseason.

Despite Silvestri’s absence, Farley said one of the team’s big strengths is pitching depth.

This is good news for a team that was fifth of seven conference teams in earned run average and had the second most wild pitches in the league.

“There’s not a secret to stopping wild pitches,” junior catcher Nick Hladek said. “We have to work on throwing strikes and improve from last year.”

One area where the Bulldogs were better last season was on offense.

The team was second in the Horizon League in batting average and runs  scored and was third in on base percentage.

Still, Farley said this season’s team is a better hitting team on paper than last season’s.

“Last season, BBCOR [Bat Standard] deadened the bats and lowered offensive output,” Farley said. “It took our hitters a long time to get used to it.”

In addition to Guinane and Risi, Butler returns senior infielder Griffin Richeson and senior outfielder Mike Hoscheit to fuel the offense.

Richeson has the second-highest batting average and on base percentage of all returning Bulldogs, behind Guinane.

Hoscheit has the third-highest batting average and second-highest slugging percentage of the team’s returning players.

Upperclassmen will likely be relied upon this season, as 22 of the team’s 32 players are a junior or senior.

“We have a lot of leadership collectively,” Hladek said. “There won’t be one guy who we’ll have to rely upon.”

Two of those leaders will be Silvestri and senior pitcher Mike Hernandez, who were named two of the league’s three top pitchers in a recent poll of the league’s coaches.

That same poll had Wright State as the team to beat this season, a team that Farley said Butler “tries to be like.”

“Some people might overlook us, but we’re going to make some noise in the league,” Hladek said.”

The Butler baseball team put an end to a three-game losing streak and swept the series against a non-conference opponent, Lawrence.

The Bulldogs (15-16, 4-5 HL) outscored the Vikings (2-21), 32-3, during the three-game weekend series and were victorious in all three contests.

“I expected us to have a very successful series against Lawrence,” head coach Steve Farley said. “Our starting pitchers gave us three good outings and overall we played good defense.”

The Vikings tallied their first runs of the series late in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday. It was not nearly enough, however, as Butler finished off Lawrence, 14-3, in seven innings.

A five-run first inning gave the Bulldogs all the runs they needed. Sophomore designated hitter Pat Gelwicks had a two-run triple in the frame and later scored on a wild pitch.

In the third inning, the Bulldogs managed to plate three more runs without recording a hit.

Butler scored seven more times during the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to lead 12-0 before Lawrence brought home its only three runs of the series in the sixth inning.

Ten different Bulldogs had a hit during the game.

Leading the way was Gelwicks, who went 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a walk. Junior shortstop Griffin Richeson and junior right fielder Mike Hoscheit both had a pair of RBIs as well.

“We have a lot of parts we can put in to produce,” Richeson said. “We have been changing lineups, but we have 12 or 13 guys who can come in and do a good job.”

Junior Mike Hernandez picked up his third victory of the season by pitching six innings for Butler. He allowed three runs, one earned, on seven hits.

The first game of the doubleheader was headlined by the pitching of senior Jared Wagoner, as the Bulldogs shut out the Vikings, 11-0, in seven innings.

With the win, Wagoner improved his record to 4-3 this season. He went six innings, giving up just three hits while striking out six and walking none.

“I thought I pitched pretty well,” Wagoner said. “I was really efficient and I made pitches when I needed to.”

Freshman third baseman Patrick Guinane and senior shortstop Luke Duncan had three RBIs apiece in the win. Senior first baseman Grant Fillipitch turned in a strong performance at the plate as well, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs.

“It was great that all of our position players got the opportunity to get in the games and help us score a bunch of runs,” Farley said.

The opening game of the series featured more solid pitching for Butler, this time from senior Dom Silvestri, as the Bulldogs toppled Lawrence, 7-0.

Silvestri had little trouble with the Vikings’ lineup.

He threw seven scoreless innings, giving up three hits and striking out eight.

Butler provided support for Silvestri by putting up crooked numbers in the third and fourth innings.

Guinane was the top producer for Butler, driving home three runs with a single and a triple. Fillipitch tallied three hits and an RBI in the contest.

Butler’s scheduled game against Ball State yesterday was canceled due to weather.

The Bulldogs look to repeat their weekend success against conference foe UIC at home Friday and Saturday.

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The Butler men’s baseball team picked up its second consecutive victory last night, defeating IPFW, 8-3.

Senior third baseman Grant Fillipitch went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for the Bulldogs (2-3), while senior second baseman Luke Duncan added two RBIs.

Butler got the offense going early against the Mastadons (0-1), scoring three runs  in both the second and third innings.

Junior Mike Hernandez picked up the win for the Bulldogs, who had eight pitchers see action in the game.

The Bulldogs picked up their first win of the season against South Carolina-Upstate on Sunday, topping the Spartans (4-4), 10-9.

Fillipitch finished the day a triple short of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI.

Senior designated hitter Kyle Waggoner also had a strong day, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs. He was named Horizon League Player of the Week for hitting .412 and tallying seven RBIs during the road trip.

“Our hitters really broke out today and did a nice job,” head coach Steve Farley said. “After losing a tough game to Gardner-Webb, I wasn’t sure how the guys would bounce back.”

With the game tied at 8 going into the ninth, Butler played some small ball to produce the go-ahead run.

Freshman Zach Sizemore walked to open the frame and, after a sacrifice bunt and a passed ball, scored on a sacrifice fly from Waggoner to put the Bulldogs up, 9-8.

Butler added another run before the inning ended courtesy of an RBI single by junior shortstop Griffin Richeson.

Sophomore Chase Byerly held off a comeback by Upstate in the bottom of the inning and picked up his first save of the season.

Sophomore Joel Leichty picked up the win in relief for Butler.

The day before the win, Butler dropped both ends of a doubleheader against Gardner-Webb.

The second of the two games was a close affair, and, although the Bulldogs led for six innings, the Runnin’ Bulldogs (6-3) pulled out a 6-5 victory.

Butler used a strong second inning to take an early 4-0 lead.

Down 5-1 in the seventh, Gardner-Webb tied the contest, led by junior rightfielder Adam McFarland’s two RBIs.

In the bottom of the ninth, freshman third baseman Scott Coleman scored the game-winning run for the Runnin’ Bulldogs on a wild pitch.

The first game of the doubleheader wasn’t as competitive, as Butler fell behind early and dropped an 11-4 decision.

The Bulldogs opened their season on Friday with a 10-2 loss to Wofford (6-2).

Butler now heads to Oakland to take on the Golden Grizzlies (0-3) in back-to-back doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday.