The Bulldogs head to Storrs, Conn., for the 2021 BIG EAST Softball Championship presented by JEEP. The double-elimination tournament begins Thursday and is scheduled to run through Saturday.

The top four teams in the BIG EAST standings qualified for the tournament. Butler entered the final weekend of the regular season in fifth place and heading to Omaha for a three-game series with fourth-place Creighton. However, the Bluejays had COVID issues within their program and canceled the remainder of their 2021 season. Butler moved into the fourth position.

The Bulldogs are 16-19-1 overall and 6-11-1 in BIG EAST play. Butler is joined in the BIG EAST Tournament by DePaul, Villanova and UConn, which was the predetermined host for the event.

The Bulldogs and the top-seeded Blue Demons will open the tournament Thursday at noon. Villanova and UConn, the second and third seeds, respectively, will play the second game of the day. Thursday's games will be streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network, while Friday and Saturday's games are slated for FS2.

This will be Butler's third appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament since the Bulldogs joined the conference prior to the 2013-14 academic year (the 2020 tournament was canceled due to COVID). The Bulldogs won the 2016 title, also as the No. 4 seed, in dramatic fashion. Butler surrendered a grand slam in both games while posting two come-from-behind wins. The tournament format has been changed to double-elimination for 2021. Butler also qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament in 2017, falling in the semifinals.

Butler's strength so far in 2021 has been arguably the deepest pitching staff in the BIG EAST. The Bulldogs lead the conference in ERA with a mark of 2.84. Butler also is averaging more than one strikeout per inning pitched (243 in 241.1 innings), the only team in the conference to hit that feat. Opponents are batting only .241 against Butler's staff this season, which also paces the conference.
Bulldogs rank 2-3-4 in the conference in ERA with Alyssa Graves leading the charge with a 2.38 mark (second in the BIG EAST). Mackenzie Griman (2.67) and Karli Ricketts (2.72) follow in third and fourth, respectively.

Ricketts has 113 strikeouts on the season, which is second in the league. Those have come in only 95.1 innings of work. Opponents are batting only .223 against her, which is third in the BIG EAST. With 95 strikeouts, Graves is fourth in the conference. Opponents are batting only .238 against her, which has come in 91 innings.

In the team's 18 BIG EAST contests, Butler is third in the conference with a 2.88 ERA and the staff's 131 strikeouts are 45 more than the next BIG EAST team.

Junior second baseman Lauren Fey is second in the BIG EAST with a .427 batting average. That mark is also 39^th in the nation entering this week's tournament. Fey has walked 21 times (second in the conference) to go along with her 47 hits (third in the conference), which has contributed to her .519 on-base percentage, which is third among BIG EAST batters. Her on-base percentage is just outside the Top 50 nationally. Fey leads the BIG EAST in triples (seven), and is tied for fifth in both runs scored (22) and stolen bases (12).
Fey strikes out once every 18.3 plate appearances, which leads the conference and is 80^th nationally.

Ricketts has been the largest source of power for the Butler line-up this season. Her seven home runs and 26 RBI are both tied for fourth in the BIG EAST.