BIG EAST Series: DePaul
DATE: Friday, Mar. 7 – Sunday, Mar. 9
LOCATION: Indianapolis, Ind. / TBD
LIVE STATS: butlersports.com
LIVE VIDEO: N/A
The Butler softball team hosts its first BIG EAST series of the season this weekend when DePaul comes to Indianapolis. The Bulldogs finished the tournament portion of the schedule with an 11-5 record, while the Blue Demons currently sit at 10-8. If weather and field conditions prevent the use of the Butler softball field, an alternative site is under consideration.
Bulldog Bits
(through games 3/2/25)
- Cate Lehner's .433 batting average is second in the BIG EAST. Her 11 stolen bases are also 2nd in the conference (35th nationally) and her 26 hits rank 2nd (71st).
- Ella White leads the BIG EAST (88th nationally) with a .534 on base percentage. She is second with 4 home runs and second (97th) with a .762 slugging percentage. She is fourth (99th) with 1.06 RBI per game.
- Makena Alexander's 4 home runs rank second in the BIG EAST and her .638 slugging percentage ranks sixth.
- Gwen Baker ranks fourth in the BIG EAST with a 1.81 ERA.
at Madeira Beach
- Hailey Conger hit a career-first home run vs. Binghamton. She had 4 total RBI over the weekend along with a double.
- Cate Lehner led Butler with a .350 ave. connecting on 7 hits and stealing four bases.
- Ella White produced 5 RBI and had a triple.
- After throwing a no-hitter vs. Western Illinois (2/24) Rylyn Dyer was named BIG EAST Co-Pitcher of the Week. She also had a complete-game win over UAlbany.
- Gwen Baker was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week after producing a 1.03 ERA over 20.1 innings in for appearances. She had two wins, with a complete-game 3-0 shutout over Murray State.
- 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 DEPAUL (10-8, 0-0 BIG EAST)
- Series- DePaul leads, 21-14
- 2024 (Chicago): Butler 2-1 / DePaul 4-3 (9 in.) / Butler 7-6 (9 in.)
2023 (BE Tournament) DePaul 4-2
2023 (Indianapolis): Butler 2-1 / Butler 4-3/ Butler 13-5 (6 in.)
2022 (Chicago): Butler 6-5 / DePaul 7-6 / Butler 4-3
- Butler has won seven of the most recent ten contests, but the Blue Demons knocked the Bulldogs out of the BIG EAST Tournament in 2023.
- The teams played a game in 1985 and two in 1994, the only contests prior to their first conference matchup in 2014.
2025 BIG EAST series results: (This is the first conference series for both teams.)
- Wins for the Blue Demons this season include: Detroit Mercy, Valparaiso, Western Illinois, UT-Martin, Rider, and UMass.
- Losses include: NC-Wilmington, Purdue Fort Wayne, Green Bay, and St. Thomas.
DePaul vs. (opponents) Butler
- runs: 84-56 82
- hits: 141-113 136
- RBI: 82-44 71
- SB: 14-20 28
- ERA: 2.18-5.81 2.65
Batting Leaders:
- #24 Bibianna Rodriguez (.341) 14H, 7RBI
- #2 Morgan Rogers (.326) 14R, 15H, 6SB
- #18 Zoe Levine (.298)5-2B, 10RBI
- #1 Baylee Cosgrove (.286) 16H, 5-2B, 12RBI
Pitching Leaders:
- #6 Bella Nigey (6-1) 1.91 ERA, 44K
- #7 Ava Gusel (0-2) 2.04 ERA, 5K
- #11 Kelly Greene (4-5) 2.25 ERA, 19K
