Game_Notes 

WASHINGTON - With a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament on the line, the Georgetown baseball team plays host to Butler this weekend in a critical three-game series at Shirley Povich Field. The two teams will play Friday and Saturday night at 7 p.m. before concluding the weekend on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch.

All three games will be broadcast live via HoyaVision, accessible through the Georgetown Athletics official website - www.GUHoyas.com - with Kyle Meyers providing the play-by-play. Live stats can also be found on GU's website.

Probable Pitching Matchups ...
Friday
Butler: LHP Jeff Schank - 3-6, 3.14 ERA
Georgetown: LHP Matt Hollenbeck (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) - 2-4, 5.20 ERA
Saturday
Butler: LHP Peter Nyznyk - 4-2, 3.79 ERA
Georgetown: RHP Matt Smith (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) - 3-4, 2.64 ERA
Sunday
Butler: LHP Nick Morton - 3-6, 6.21 ERA
Georgetown: RHP Kevin Superko (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley/Phillips Andover) - 2-2, 3.66 ERA

Hoya Notes ...
Prior to Saturday evening's game, Georgetown will celebrate the four members of the senior class with a special Senior Day ceremony. Pitchers Will Brown (Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca) and Matt Hollenbeck as well as shortstop Ryan Busch (Falcon Heights, Minn./Roseville Area) and first baseman AC Carter (Winter Park, Fla./Orangewood Christian) will all be playing their final home games this weekend.

On Monday, Busch was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after batting .375 (6-for-16) in four games last week with a home run and four runs scored. In Friday's series opener against St. John's, Busch finished 3-for-4 with a three-run home run, two runs scored and a stolen base. He now stands among the BIG EAST leaders in both home runs (5) and runs scored (35).

This weekend will mark the third time this season that a Georgetown player has played against one of his siblings. Busch's younger brother, Dan, is a sophomore infielder/outfielder for Butler and is batting .313 (5-for-16) in 12 games this season. Earlier this year, Busch also played against his older brother, Matt, who is an assistant coach at Bucknell. Freshman outfielder Michael DeRenzi (Mendham, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) also played against his twin brother, Lukas, who is a member of Villanova's squad.

Scouting Butler ...
Butler enters this weekend with a 19-27 overall record and a 5-7 mark in conference play, tied with Georgetown and Villanova for the final spot in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Bulldogs rank second in the conference with a .280 team batting average. The pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.74.

Freshmen Garret Christman and Tyler Houston lead the Bulldog offense with batting averages of .331 and .327, respectively. Christman is tied with Ryan Wojciechowski for the team lead in hits with 50. Houston leads the entire BIG EAST with 46 runs scored and is tied for the team lead with three home runs. Wojciechowski leads Butler with 32 RBI and is tied for the team lead with 14 doubles. Jeff Schank, Friday night's starter, is fifth in the conference with a 3.14 ERA and leads the conference in innings pitched (71.2) and strikeouts (62).

Last Time Out ...
The Hoyas were swept by St. John's in a three-game series last weekend. The Hoyas lost, 11-8, on Friday night, despite home runs from Busch and Nick Collins (Carthage, N.C./Union Pines). The Red Storm took Saturday's contest, 4-1, before scoring four runs in the seventh and eighth innings on Sunday to defeat Georgetown, 5-4.

What's Up Next ...
The Blue & Gray will play a midweek game at UMBC on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. before concluding the regular season with a three-game BIG EAST series at Seton Hall next Thursday-Saturday, May 14-16. Thursday's game will begin at 6 p.m. while both Friday and Saturday will begin at 1 p.m.