Butkiewicz named to Johnny Bench Award watch list

Colin Butkiewicz

Western Kentucky junior Colin Butkiewicz was named Wednesday to the 2018 Johnny Bench Award Watch List.

The Greendale, Wis., native is one of 124 catchers in the nation to earn the recognition, and the list will be narrowed down to a group of semifinalists May 16.

Butkiewicz has started 34 of 44 games as a backstop, and ranks fourth on the Hilltoppers with a .282/.380/.410 slash line. He has 11 extra-base hits (nine doubles and a pair of home runs) with 24 RBI and 16 runs scored.

Of the catcher’s 24 RBI, a team-high 18 have come in two-out scenarios, and he ranks third on the club with eight multi-RBI games.