Following a 15-run showing against Youngstown State Friday, the Butler baseball team has struggled to score, resulting in a three-game losing streak.

The Bulldogs (12-16, 4-5 HL) will look to revive their offense against Lawrence on Friday after being shut out by Dayton yesterday.

The Flyers (17-16) scored three times in the third inning and got help from Butler’s shaky defense to top the Bulldogs, 4-0.

Butler outhit Dayton, 7-4, but the Flyers took advantage of errors in the third and sixth innings to bring home two of their four runs.

That was all the run support Dayton pitchers would need. Junior Tim Bury pitched five and two-thirds innings out of the bullpen, giving up seven hits and striking out five.

The Flyers received RBIs from junior shortstop Brian Blasik and junior first baseman C.J. Gillman.

Freshman Marcos Calderon took the loss for the Bulldogs, going four innings and allowing three runs on two hits.

On Friday, Butler’s slate of games against the Penguins (8-21, 3-3 HL) started with a strong victory for the Bulldogs, as they defeated Youngstown State, 15-1. The 14-run win was Butler’s largest of the season.

“[The win] was really fun,” head coach Steve Farley said. “We got great pitching and hitting, but I wish we wouldn’t have won by so much.”

The Bulldogs piled up 18 hits in the game and received 11 RBIs from junior rightfielder Mike Hoscheit and senior third baseman Grant Fillipitch combined.

Hoscheit went 3-for-5 with 7 RBIs in the contest. It was a career day for Hoscheit, who drove home six of the seven runs on doubles in the fifth, seventh and ninth innings.

“The whole team was hitting,” Hoscheit said. “It became contagious and it took the pressure off at the plate.”

Up 2-0 entering the fifth inning, the Bulldogs scored four times thanks to an RBI double by Hoscheit, a run-scoring single by Fillipitch and a two-run triple by freshman first baseman Zach Sizemore.

Butler kept pressure on the Penguins through the rest of the game, tallying nine runs on nine hits over the final four innings.

While Hoscheit’s seven-RBI day topped the scoresheet for Butler, the Bulldogs also received strong hitting performances from Fillipitch, who went 3-for-5 with three runs and four RBIs, and senior second baseman Luke Duncan, who went 4-for-4 and scored four times.

Senior Dom Silvestri pitched eight innings, allowing only a ninth-inning run on seven hits while striking out three.

Butler was unable to carry over any momentum from its big win the previous day to Saturday’s contest, however.

In the opener, Youngstown State got two runs in the opening frame courtesy of an error and an RBI single, giving the Penguins a 5-1 victory.

Butler was held to one run by senior Phil Kline, who went seven innings and gave up four hits while striking out 10 hitters.

The Bulldogs were in control of the second game until Youngstown State staged a late comeback and won in walk-off fashion, 4-3.

Butler scored all three of its runs in the fourth inning, led by an RBI double from sophomore first baseman Pat Gelwicks.

The Penguins scored a run in the eighth inning and two more runs in the ninth inning, winning the game on a single from freshman second baseman Phil Lipari.

“Youngstown State just kept coming back,” Farley said. “We really didn’t do anything bad so I don’t expect us to be too down on ourselves.”

On April 6, the Bulldogs hosted Purdue and dropped a 10-8 decision.

Butler will welcome the Vikings (2-15) from Lawrence for a three-game series before heading to Ball State April 19.