Butler Sweeps Twinbill From Wright State

April 5, 2003

Box Score

Freshmen pitchers Josh Rudolfi and Luke Behning turned in an impressive Horizon League debut by leading Butler to a doubleheader sweep of visiting Wright State, 7-0 and 8-0, at chilly Bulldog Park on Saturday, April 5. The two shutout wins boosted Butler to 16-13 overall and 3-0 in league play, while Wright State fell to 8-16 overall and 0-3 in the conference.

Both first-year pitchers were making their initial Horizon League start, and both were unaffected by the 30-degree temperatures in Indianapolis on Saturday. Rudolfi blanked the Raiders on seven hits, while Behning stopped the visitors on three hits. The left-handed Rudolfi had five strikeouts and just two walks, while the right-handed Behning recorded eight strikeouts against three walks.

Sophomore outfielder Dale Mueller provided Butler's offensive spark with six hits in eight trips to the plate. Mueller had three hits and scored a pair of runs in the first game of the twinbill, and then he came back with three hits, two runs batted in and a pair of runs scored in the nightcap.

Butler took command of the first game with three runs in the first inning. Mueller started the rally with a single, and he eventually scored on a single by catcher Tim Marks. Junior Ryan Nance plated Marks with a double and then scored on a single by senior Jeff Albert.

Marks finished the opener with three hits and one RBI, while Nance added a pair of hits and one RBI.

In the second game, Butler scored eight runs in the first three innings. Junior Matt Crews opened the game with a bunt single and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Marks.

Butler then added four runs in the second inning on hits by senior Paul Beck, Crews, Mueller and Nance. The Bulldogs scored three more in the third inning on hits by sophomore Jeff Brown, Mueller and Nance.

Crews had two hits and three runs scored, while Nance had a pair of hits and two RBI's.

Wright State's Chris Tuttle and Pat Masters each had two hits on the day. Tuttle struck out for the first time this season in the opener against Rudolfi and then Behning fanned the Raiders' centerfielder in the second game.

Butler and Wright State will finish the four-game series at Bulldog Park on Sunday, April 6, with a single nine-inning game at 12 noon.