WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012
THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN | PAGE 7
BASEBALL
Transfer Risi brings power to Butler BETH WERGE BWERGE@BUTLER.EDU STAFF WRITER
Photo by Taylor Cox
Butler junior first baseman Jimmy Risi leads the Bulldogs in home runs, RBI and slugging percentage after transferring from Muscatine Community College.
Kansas State had him once. Muscatine Community College had him once. But now, Butler University has junior first baseman Jimmy Risi all the time. Risi has brought power and team-leading offensive numbers to the Bulldogs despite getting off to what he called a “crappy” start. Risi is currently leading Butler in multiple categories, including slugging percentage (.646), home runs (six) and RBI (26). An Illinois native, Risi was a history-maker at Highland Park High School. He set school records in home runs (27), runs batted in (118) and doubles (38). He also set the school record for best singleseason batting average (.468) and eventually earned a full-ride scholarship to Kansas State. “I stayed [at Kansas State] for a year, but I left the team right before the season started,” Risi said. “I played in the fall and was going to play for the team but decided to leave. It just wasn’t for me.” Risi then spent two years with Muscatine, a junior college in eastern Iowa. There he led the
team in home runs and batting average, among other offensive categories, during both seasons. But Muscatine would not be Risi’s final stop. He began emailing universities, looking to move again. Although the majority sent no reply, former Butler assistant coach Matt Tyner did. “It was exciting,” Risi said. “I didn’t think [the Butler coaching staff] was going to email back.” Two days after his second season with Muscatine ended, he made an official visit to Butler. “It was kind of an emotional time,” said Risi, who had to say goodbye to friends at Muscatine, visit with family at home and visit a brand-new school, all in the span of 48 hours. “I was home for one day, and then it was, ‘OK, now you have to go visit another school and make a decision within a week,’” Risi said. After traveling to Indianapolis, Risi settled on Butler. He said he was enticed by the campus, the school and the people, including those who are now his teammates and coaches. “Right from the first week on, all of the guys were great,” Risi said. “They were all so supportive and welcoming.” Risi called coach Steve Farley
“a father figure” and said that “he treats you like a person, which is different from other places.” “Jimmy is off to a great start this season,” Farley said. “It helped that some of our players from the Chicago area played against him in high school.” One of those players is senior pitcher Brad Schnitzer, who was on a national runner-up team with Risi at age 12. “Jimmy is somebody who, right away, everybody really liked,” Schnitzer said. “He meshed with the team really quickly. He hits the ball harder and farther than anybody else, but he’s so humble about it.” Yesterday in Butler’s 12-5 win over Bellarmine, Risi went 1-for2 with four RBI and Butler’s lone home run. “I just want to continue to help the team win and get better any way I can,” Risi said. He said he has a couple of goals in mind for his time at Butler, including taking more of a leadership role as a senior. The primary objective, however, is a Horizon League title this year. “To me, Jimmy is capable of being one of the top power hitters in the Horizon League,” Farley said. “We are excited to have him in a Bulldog uniform.”
GOLF
Women’s team victorious in Butler Spring Invitational, men finish seventh ANDRÉ SMITH
AMSMITH5@BUTLER.EDU ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
The women’s golf team placed first of six teams in the Butler Spring Invitational while the men placed seventh out of 10 teams in the event. The women’s team finished 32 strokes ahead of second-place Evansville to grab the top spot. Senior Michele Nash led the women in the second round, shooting a six over par 77. “I am happy with the result, but I just wish my scores were a bit lower,” Nash said. “I was a little disappointed with my score, because I always try to shoot around par.” Nash also led the team in the first round. She and junior teammate Julia Porter both shot a 76. “We are going to have to work on playing our short game,” Nash said. “We also have to work on not getting
down on ourselves mentally. Conference is coming up, so now is the time to start working on picking ourselves up and trying to recover.” Senior Clare Cornelius, who shot an 84 in both rounds, also expressed disappointment in the team’s scores despite the victory. “I think we had a decent round of scores, but we could have done better,” Cornelius said. “I think we just need to stay focused in practice and support everyone because everyone’s scores are put together, and one shot can make a difference.” Nash said the Bulldogs need to improve their play prior to their next tournament on April 5. “My expectations were to win today because we have played some of these teams throughout the season,” Nash said. “The result was a win, but looking forward to the [Big Four tournament],
PROS AND CONS: JUMP WOULD CREATE INTRIGUING ISSUES FROM PAGE FIVE
the conference. Also, the average enrollment between the two conferences is separated by fewer than 600 students. However, the negatives of a conference jump may outweigh the positives in this case. The effect of moving to a bigger conference could be troublesome to Butler’s other athletic teams. Many of Butler’s athletic teams have to battle and claw their way through both nonconference and Horizon League play, and a berth in their respective NCAA tournaments is a great achievement. The A-10 is not the Big East or Big Ten, but it is not a cakewalk of a conference either. Butler’s athletic teams would have to make their way past 13 other teams instead of nine to achieve at least a conference championship.
on deck
Upcoming Bulldog home events
SATURDAY
if we do the same as we did today, we will not do as well. “The courses are just going to be harder as we go forward.” On the men’s side, junior Matt Vitale said he was also disappointed with his team’s performance after the Bulldogs dropped from second place in the first round to a seventh-place finish overall. The men recorded a team score of 299 in the opening round and sat 10 strokes behind leader Dayton. However, the Bulldogs had the eighth-worst team score on the second day of play, putting them 18 strokes behind tournament-winning Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis at the end of the tournament. “We definitely struggled a bit considering our position going into the second round,” Vitale said. “The conditions of the course were harder today, but the main
In sports with individual competitions, some Butler athletes could go from being near the top of the Horizon League to the middle of the A-10 pack thanks to better competition. Situations like this could factor into the loss of potential athletic scholarships, costing current and future Butler students. The fact that most of the A-10’s teams are on the East Coast also changes the amount of time Butler’s student-athletes would have to spend on the road. Currently, Butler’s longest in-conference road trip is approximately 350 miles to Youngstown State. Eleven of the 14 teams in the A-10 are further from Butler than that. Butler has stability in the Horizon League. If something is not broken, it does not need to be fixed. Butler should not make this move simply for the money, increased recognition and benefit of the men’s basketball team. If moving to the A-10 benefits Butler and all of its athletic teams, then the school should go for it. Otherwise, Butler should continue its tenure in the Horizon League.
SATURDAY
SATURDAY
MEN’S TENNIS
SOFTBALL
vs. Detroit
vs. Loyola
11:00 a.m.
1:00 p.m.
story is how we performed, and we did not perform how we should have.” Junior Andrew Wegeng, who shot a seven over par 79 in the second round, said the team needs to work on being consistent. “All of us have different things that we are focusing on, but overall, we are just trying to get more consistent,” Wegeng said. “That is what we struggled with in the fall season.” Butler was able to best Evansville, Robert Morris and South Dakota in spite of second-round struggles. “This [tournament] is just one blip on the radar,” Vitale said. “I think we just need to get outside as much as we can. “We had good play in Florida last week, so one bad week will not get us down.” The next competition for both teams will be the Big Four tournament next Thursday in Carmel.
STAY: BUTLER LEAVING HORIZON WOULD HURT OTHER TEAMS
FROM PAGE FIVE
a Butler move would be experienced by the other nine schools in the Horizon League. None of those schools have experienced the national exposure Butler has. In the world of college athletics, the big-money sports are football and men’s basketball. Strong seasons by other squads like Green Bay’s women’s basketball team or Loyola of Chicago’s men’s volleyball team go unnoticed. With no Division I football teams in the conference, the Horizon League becomes a men’s basketball conference. Anything that affects men’s basketball also affects the Horizon League as a whole. That’s why Butler is so important to the league as a whole. No other school has the tradition or past success (Loyola’s 1963 national championship
SATURDAY
SATURDAY
WOMEN’S TENNIS
SOFTBALL
vs. Detroit
vs. Loyola
2:00 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Butler Sports Information
Butler junior golfer Julia Porter follows through on a shot during the Butler Spring Invitational on Tuesday.
3:00 p.m.
notwithstanding) as Butler. Those factors put the Horizon League on the map and have separated it from conferences such as the Big Sky, Summit and Ohio Valley. If Butler leaves, the appeal to cover Horizon League contests will fade from the major networks, particularly ESPN. Coaches will have a more difficult time attracting top recruits without the benefit of that exposure. At Loyola, the biggest crowd of the season for men’s basketball is always at the Butler game. Although Loyola is rebuilding the innercity rivalry with DePaul, Butler remains Loyola’s biggest rival. Butler is the standard for the other schools to match, not only in men’s basketball but also in other sports. The Bulldogs are the class of the Horizon League athletically. Butler might serve itself well by moving to the A-10, but the trickle-down effect of that move might cripple the Horizon League.
SUNDAY
SUNDAY
MEN’S TENNIS
SOFTBALL
WOMEN’S TENNIS
BASEBALL
vs. IUPUI
vs. Loyola
vs. St. Louis
vs. Wabash
7:00 p.m.
12:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m.
TUESDAY 3:00 p.m.