Butler Softball Heads to Providence for BIG EAST Series

3/13/2025 11:05:00 AM | By: Joey Gruner

BIG EAST Series:             Providence
DATE: Friday, Mar. 14 – Sunday, Mar. 16
LOCATION: Providence, R.I. / Glay Field
LIVE STATS:                      butlersports.com
LIVE VIDEO:                      FloSports

The Butler softball team remains on the road, heading to Providence to take on the Friars in a weekend BIG EAST series. The Bulldogs (14-6, 3-0 BIG EAST) are coming off a loss at (rv) Indiana and a three-game sweep of DePaul in their opening conference series. Providence (5-14, 2-1 BIG EAST) most recently split a doubleheader with Yale. The Friars won two of three games in their opening conference series with Creighton.

Bulldog Bits
(through games 3/11/25)

Cate Lehner leads the BIG EAST (54th nationally) with a .453 batting average, and she is second (37th) with 34 hits. Her 16 stolen bases also lead the conference (16th).
Ella White leads the BIG EAST (34th nationally) with a .563 on base percentage, and she is third (93rd) with 24 RBI. She is fourth with a .750 slugging percentage.
Makena Alexander is atop the BIG EAST (89th nationally) with six home runs. She is second in the BIG EAST (89th) with a .763 slugging percentage and fourth with 23 RBI.
Gwen Baker ranks third in the BIG EAST (88th nationally) with 6 victories and is third (78th) with a 3.19 ERA.

vs. DePaul

Makena Alexander was 7-for-10 (.700) with two doubles, two home runs, and ten RBI.
Sydney Carter and Ella White were both 6-for-9 (.667). White had 7RBI.
Gwen Baker picked up two wins in two starts. She produced a 1.56 ERA over 9.0 innings.
Butler's 21 runs in game one were a program record vs. DI opponents. The previous high was 15 runs.
In the game three, 14-1, win, the Bulldogs had 14 hits which were all singles.
Makena Alexander was named BIG EAST Player of the Week after dominating the series sweep over DePaul, going 7-for-10 with two doubles, two home runs, and 10 RBI.
Gwen Baker has been chosen Freshman of the Week for the second straight week. She picked up two wins in two starts in the circle with a combined ERA of 1.56. Over 9.0 innings, she allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and four walks with three strikeouts.
BIG EAST coaches ranked Butler sixth in the 2025 Preseason Poll. The Villanova Wildcats were voted preseason favorites behind six first place votes and a league-best 61 points. UConn followed with 57 points, appearing first on two ballots. St. John's (46) ranked third, and Creighton (43), who garnered the final first-place vote, ranked fourth. Seton Hall (39) landed in the fifth spot and was followed by Butler (28).

SCOUTING PROVIDENCE (5-14, 2-1 BIG EAST)
Series- Butler leads, 16-13-1

2024 (Indianapolis) Butler 6-5 | Butler 5-1 | Providence 9-7
2023 (Providence) Butler 7-1 | Butler 12-7 | Butler 10-2 (6 in.)
2022 (Indianapolis) Providence 3-2 | Butler 3-0 | Butler 5-4

2025 BIG EAST Series: vs. Creighton W, 5-4 | L, 1-6 | W, 4-3

Additional wins for the Friars this season include: North Florida, George Mason, and Yale.
Additional losses include: #2 Florida, #12 Duke, Binghamton (2), Boston College, UCF, and South Carolina.

Providence vs. (opponents) Butler
runs:       61-99                                                                              124
hits:         117-154                                                                          185
RBI:         57-92                                                                              111
SB:           16-40                                                                              38
ERA:       6.84-3.57                                                                      3.19

Batting Leaders:

Elisa Smith (.414) 24H, 3-3B, 5SB
Cameron Dunn (.346) 18H, 4-2B, 4HR, 17 RBI
Hanna Aldrich (.326) 15H, 3-2B, 7RBI

Pitching Leaders:

Jessica Walter (1-0) 1.08 ERA, 17K
Tori Grifone (3-5) 5.49 ERA, 28K
Alannah Hopkins (1-5) 6.97 ERA, 10K
Alyssa Twomey (0-4) 11.39 ERA, 16K

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