INDIANAPOLIS – The Butler softball team lost to Providence on Tuesday but finished the opening BIG EAST series for both teams with a 2-1 advantage in the win column. The final game was tied 4-4 after four innings, but a big fifth inning by the Friars (7-9, 1-2 BIG EAST) provided a five-run advantage. The Bulldogs (12-11, 2-1 BIG EAST) managed three runs in the bottom of the seventh but were unable to extend or win the game.
Game 3: Providence 9, Butler 7 (7 innings)
Providence scored four runs in the top of the second inning, but Butler pushed back in the bottom half.
Hailey Conger and
Ella White each hit a bases-loaded single to bring the Dawgs to within two, at 4-2.
In the bottom of the third, Butler tied the game at four. With the bases loaded, a wild pitch and a throwing error allowed two runs to cross the plate on the same play.
In the fifth, the Friars scored five runs on three hits and an error. The 9-4 lead held through six complete.
In the bottom of the seventh, Butler loaded the bases with one out. A wild pitch allowed White to score from third. Then,
Kieli Ryan put the ball in play, allowing
Leigh Vande Hei to cross the plate, but a second out was recorded.
Sydney Carter then singled in
Kaylee Gross, but that was then end of the threat.
Rylyn Dyer started in the circle for Butler and pitched into the second inning.
Sydney Cammon (5-7) entered with two outs in the top of the second and the Bulldogs down, 3-0. She took the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits and a walk in 2.2 innings. Dyer (2.2 IP, 4R, 4H, 2BB, K) returned with one out in the top of the fifth.
Kayla Noerr (1.2 IP, K) came in with one out in the sixth and finished the game.
Bulldog Bits
- Sydney Carter had three hits in a single game for the second time this season.
- Cate Lehner's stolen base was her team-leading eighth of the season and the 25th of her career.
Up Next
Butler travels to Bellarmine on Wednesday, March 13, for a pair of games, one against the Knights and the other vs. Dartmouth.
