Butler travels west to continue BIG EAST play at Creighton for a three-game series this weekend. Saturday features a doubleheader slated for 1 p.m. (Eastern), followed by a contest scheduled for noon on Sunday.
 
Both teams enter the series jockeying for conference position. Creighton holds a slight edge over the Bulldogs in the BIG EAST standings. At 5-6 in conference play, the Bulldogs are just a half-game shy of Creighton's BIG EAST record at 6-6. Creighton currently holds the fourth spot in the standings, followed by Butler in fifth. The top four teams in the eight-team BIG EAST qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament in May.
 
The Bulldogs will look to end a current seven-game skid.
 
Butler has needed its offense to be successful this season. The Bulldogs are 0-17 when scoring two or fewer runs. The Bulldogs are 10-5 when scoring first. The team is also one to avoid late-game theatrics one way or the other: Butler is 14-0 when leading after six innings and 0-13 when trailing after six.
 
Jenna Foreman's .376 batting average leads the team and puts her in the top ten among conference players. Foreman is tied for third in the BIG EAST with 44 hits and has recorded 14 multi-hit games. The leadoff hitter presents a threat on the bases, stealing 23 bags. The outfielder has only been caught four times this season.
 
Foreman's performance led to recognition as the BIG EAST Player of the Week April 3 after batting .846 for the week, including going 9-for-10 in the three-game series against Villanova. She is hitting .405 in conference play.
 
Senior Brandyce Sallee is second on the team in batting at .373. She had a streak of 24 straight games reaching base via a hit or walk to begin the season. Injuries have kept her out of a few games throughout the series, appearing in 29 contests so far.
 
Juniors Sarah Dixon and Alyssa Lach each registered their respective 100^th career hit last weekend. Dixon, who received BIG EAST Player of the Week honors for the first week of the season, continues to highlight the team's offense and leads Butler across the board in runs scored (26), RBIs (21), doubles (7), triples (2) and home runs (4). The junior holds 13 multi-hit games, just one off team lead.
 
After starting the season in the outfield, injuries to teammates have forced Dixon to shortstop. She is the only Bulldog to start all 41 contests this season. That same positional rotation has put Cheyenne Thompson behind the plate for 20 games this season after playing almost exclusively at shortstop in 2016.
 
Hitting .333, Dixon joins several teammates batting over .300. The list includes Foreman, Sallee and Madi Christiansen. Sallee recorded two hits in Butler's last game at Illinois while Christiansen chipped in a hit as well. Freshman Kennedy Minko added two RBIs against the Fighting Illini with a long ball sent over left field for her third home run of the season. Three of her seven hits this season have left the yard.
 
Christiansen enters the weekend hitting .310 and has reached base safely in 10 straight contests. The freshman also leads the team with 19 walks.
 
Kaitlin Doud tallies a team-high five multiple-RBI games. In the circle, the sophomore leads the team with an ERA of 3.71.
 
Mikeila Boroff's ERA has dropped to 2.83 in six BIG EAST appearances. Freshman Gabbi Schnaiter leads pitchers with 57 total strikeouts, good for top ten in the BIG EAST.
 
Schnaiter leads the team with six wins, followed by five for Boroff and four for Doud. All three pitchers have seen extensive action in the circle for Butler this season.
 
Butler will continue on the road for a three-game conference series against Seton Hall April 29-30.