PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Butler softball team took the BIG EAST series with Providence on Sunday after a, 9-6, game-three victory. The Friars (6-16, 3-3 BIG EAST) tied the back-and-forth affair in the fifth inning, but the Bulldogs (16-7, 5-1 BIG EAST) scored three in the sixth, highlighted by an Olivia Moxley home run, to seal the win.
 
Game 3: Butler 9, Providence 6 (7 innings)
 
In the top of the first, back-to-back home runs from Makena Alexander and Paige Dorsett gave Butler the early lead. Alexander's bomb also brought Cate Lehner home. The 3-0 lead was short-lived.
 
In the bottom of the second, Providence cut into the lead with a two-run double. One inning later, the Friars added two more and took a 4-3 lead.
 
In the top of the fourth, the Dawgs used two singles and an error to tie the game, 4-4. With two runners on, Hailey Conger hit a double to right-center field and pushed two more across. The 6-4 lead held until the bottom of the fifth, when Providence tied the score at 6-6.
 
In the sixth, an RBI-double from Dorsett gave the Dawgs the lead. One batter later, Olivia Moxley homered and also brought Dorsett across. Butler was up, 9-6.
 
Gwen Baker (4.1-IP, 4R, 7H, 4BB, 5K) started in the circle for Butler and lasted into the third. She re-entered in the top of the sixth, finished the game, and picked up her second save of the season. Katie Petran (4-3) entered in the bottom of the third inning, tied 3-3, with runners on first and third and one out and pitched through the fifth inning. In 2.2 innings, she allowed two runs on three hits and a walk, and she was credited with the win.
 
Bulldog Bits

• Makena Alexander's home run was her seventh of the season and tenth of her career.
• Paige Dorsett's home run was her first of the season and the fifteenth of her career. Her double was her sixth the season and the 28^th of her career.
• Olivia Moxley's home run was her first of the season and the fifth of her career.
• Hailey Conger's double was her fourth of the season and the ninth of her career.
• Katie Petran's win in the circle was her fourth this season and 19^th of her career.
• Gwen Baker's save was her second of the season.

Up Next
Butler hosts Ball State for a midweek non-conference contest on Tuesday, March 18, and then hosts St. John's for a BIG EAST series Friday through Sunday, March 21-23.