Butler and Central Connecticut - Crowdsourced Weekend Preview

Another multi-opponent weekend on deck for the Tigers. Jay likes to set this format up to simulate regional weekend. This year the blood-donors are Butler and Central Connecticut.

Friday 6:30pm central
LSU - Paul Skenes
Butler - LHP Cole Graverson

Saturday 1:30pm central
LSU - TBD
Central Connecticut - TBD

Sunday 1:00pm central
LSU - TBD
Central Connecticut - TBD

Monday 6:30pm central
LSU - TBD
Butler - TBD

Butler brings in 31-year-old first year head coach and couple of locals. Central Connecticut comes in with zero games played on the season.

Butler has started the year 2-5, splitting their first four games with Fairleigh Dickinson and then dropping the next three to perennial regional program Campbell. In each of their losses they’ve given up at least 9 runs. The two locals I mentioned are Scott Jones and Austin Andrishok, both from LSUE. Andrishok is from Catholic High in Baton Rouge while Jones is from Sulphur. Andrishok, an LHP, hasn’t seen any time on the mound this season. Jones starts in the outfield. Buter’s starting shortstop will sound familiar. His name is Carter Dorighi, his brother Brennan hit a homer for Iowa against LSU this past weekend. I think this is the first time LSU will face two brothers on different teams since we played Matt and Mark Vierling on Notre Dame and Mizzou respectively in 2018.

Butler will face Central Connecticut on Friday afternoon before playing LSU that night. Butler will play Indiana tonight, which will create RPI connectivity for us as Indiana also played Texas and Auburn so far this year. I will have more information on their starting pitcher later in the week. In lieu of that, enjoy this box score from when LSU was horribly under-seeded in the NCAA tournament and faced off against the team-before-the-team in 2009: Butler vs LSU

Central Connecticut was picked to win the Northeast Conference and return to NCAA postseason play, where LSU met them in 2021. Looks like there are only 2 guys from that box score still on the team, OF Hunter Pasqualini and pitcher Jake Neuman. Pasqualini was all conference last season. The Blue Devils also have LHP Anthony Mozzicato. He’s one of their best pitchers but he's also notable in that his brother Frank Mozzicato was drafted by the Royals in the first round in 2021 and took a big enough discount on his signing bonus that the Royals were able to draft and sign LSU signees Ben Kudrna and Carter Jensen.

Again, since they haven’t played any games yet and will not play LSU first, I have no idea who their starting pitcher will be. Mozzicato or 2022 NEC Rookie of the Year Vincent Spizzoucco (another LHP) seem like the likely candidates. In fact, I’d like to see LSU face them both. I believe Central Connecticut has players that aren't Italian on their team, but I've not been able to confirm that at this point.

This beer of the series comes from Indianapolis (because I’ve never been to Connecticut). It’s the Wee Mac Scotch Ale. While I haven’t had this particular one in several years, Scotch Ales are a favorite of mine and this one helped start me off on that course. It’s only 5.3 ABV, so on the low end for the style. They also make a version with coffee in it, which pretty great in its own right, but more limited in availability.