The Butler baseball team defeated Division III Wabash 10-2 at a wet and rainy Bulldog Park yesterday.

The Bulldogs (18-18, 7-5) took the lead almost immediately when freshman outfielder Nick Bartolone hit a two-run home run in the first inning.

Bartolone finished 2 for 5 with a game-high three RBIs.

Junior outfielder Marcos Calderon doubled to right field in the second inning to drive in senior outfielder Bob Akin from first base.

Butler jumped out to a 7-0 lead after just two innings of play.

The Little Giants (13-19) scored two runs in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 7-2.

The Bulldogs answered in the sixth with two runs driven in on a sacrifice fly by Calderon and a single by Bartolone.

Senior pitcher Kyle Kramp earned the win, allowing one hit in two innings.

Senior pitcher Joel Leichty struck out four in four innings of relief work.

Butler was swept by No. 19 Indiana in a three-game series last weekend.

The Bulldogs dropped the first two games in Bloomington, losing 12-2 Friday and 5-2 Saturday.

The Hoosiers (30-8, 8-4) won Sunday’s game at Butler 10-3.

Indiana moved up to No. 17 in the Baseball America Top 25 after the series.

The Bulldogs host Northern Kentucky at Bulldog Park at 3 p.m. today.

Butler previously defeated the Norse (8-31, 3-12) 8-3 in a March 17 game played at Northern Kentucky.

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 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.”