INDIANAPOLIS – Ella White stepped to the plate – two runs down, with two runners on – and launched the Butler softball team into postseason play with a three-run, walk-off homerun on Sunday. The shot, over the left-center fence, produced a 5-4 win over Providence in the final game of a three-game BIG EAST series. The Friars (24-19, 10-11 BIG EAST) held a three-run lead, 4-1, after five innings, but the Bulldogs (29-15, 14-6 BIG EAST) used a four-run seventh to take the series, 2-1, and eliminate Providence from the upcoming conference tournament.
 
How It Happened

• After three scoreless innings, Providence took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth, forcing a pitching change from Alyssa Graves to Karli Ricketts with two outs.
• In the bottom of the fourth, Butler got one run back when Teagan O'Rilley (2-3) hit a single to left center that allowed Mackenzie Griman (2-3) to score.
• In the fifth, the Friars hit a two-run single, increasing their lead to 4-1. With two outs, Graves re-entered the circle for Ricketts and retired the side.
• In the bottom of the seventh, Kaylee Gross, Bri Avery, and Lauren Fey each reached on a single, loading the bases. Ellie Boyer hit a fly ball to right field that allowed Gross to score, closing the gap to 4-2. After Fey stole second, Ella White (2-4, 3 RBI, R) hit a three-run home run over the wall in left center to win the game, 5-4.

Butler Pitching
Alyssa Graves (13-3) started for Butler and earned the win. She threw a total of 6.0 innings, allowing 2 hits, 2 runs (both earned), and four walks while striking out four. She was replaced by Karli Ricketts (1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 3 K) in the middle of the fourth, but then re-entered in the middle of the fifth.
 
Bulldog Bits

• Ella White's home run was her fifth of the season.
• Lauren Fey's stolen base was her 18th of the season and the 51st of her career.
• Emily Perrelle's stolen base was her first of the season and the second of her career.
• The win today was the 40th for Alyssa Graves in her career. She has now moved into sole possession of the fourth position on Butler's all-time list for career wins.
• With today's win, Butler has clinched a spot in the four-team BIG EAST Tournament, along with UConn, Villanova, and DePaul. The Bulldogs could be seeded anywhere from 2nd to 4th, depending on the outcome of next weekend's games.
• This is the second consecutive season that Butler has qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament and the fourth time since 2016.
• Today's win is the 14th conference victory for the Bulldogs and matches the all-time record for conference wins in a season set in 2011 when the Butler was a member of the Horizon League.

Up Next
Butler travels to Morehead, Kentucky, on Wednesday, May 4, for a non-conference doubleheader with Morehead State. (These games were originally scheduled to be played on March 8.) The first pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 pm.