VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Butler softball team fell in round one of the BIG EAST Championship, dropping its first game to Creighton by the final score of 6-3. The No. 4 seed Bluejays led throughout as the No. 5 seed Bulldogs scored one run in the second and a pair in the seventh.
Butler is still alive in the tournament and will play later today in the consolation round.
Round 1: No. 4 seed Creighton 6, No. 5 seed Butler 3 (7 innings)
Creighton used three singles to score two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
In the top of the second, Butler advanced runners to second and third. A
Sydney Carter sacrifice fly cut the Bluejays' lead to one. In the bottom half, Creighton got one back, and the lead was 3-1.
Two innings later, the Bluejays scored two, first on a sacrifice fly and then a single, pushing the lead to 5-1. Creighton then added one more in the sixth to build a five-run cushion.
In the seventh, the Bulldogs advanced runners to second and third, but with two outs. A
Hailey Conger single scored one, and an
Ella White single scored another, but that was the end of the late rally.
Katie Petran (7-6) pitched a complete game for Butler and took the loss. In 6.0 innings, she allowed six runs on nine hits and two walks with one strikeout.
Bulldog Bits
- Ella White's seventh-inning RBI gives her 141 in her career and a new Butler program record. She has now surpassed Erin Fulkenberry ('09-'12) for sole possession of the top spot.
- Makena Alexander's stolen base was her third this season and the fifth of her career.
Up Next
With the loss, Butler moves into the consolation bracket and will play at 6 p.m. this evening. The opponent will be the losing team of the afternoon game between No. 3 seed Villanova and No. 6 seed Providence.
