MUNCIE, Ind. – The Butler softball team won its eighth-straight game, defeating Ball State in a midweek contest by the score of 7-6. The Bulldogs (14-9, 6-0 BIG EAST) scored in the first inning and never trailed, though the Cardinals (12-13, 1-5 MAC) tied the game at five in the third. Two Butler runs in the fifth provided the cushion needed for the victory.
Butler got on the board early thanks to back-to-back RBI-doubles from
Olivia Robards and
Alona Boydston that plated three. Ball State answered in the bottom half with a two-run home run, but the Dawgs were up, 3-2, after one.
The following inning, with
Erin Clark on second base,
Hailey Conger reached on a bunt single. An errant throw allowed Clark to continue home, and Butler was back to a two-run lead.
Makena Alexander led off the third with a solo home run. The 5-2 lead was short-lived, as the Cardinals used four hits and an error in their half to score three and tie the game at five.
Butler regained the lead in the fifth with back-to-back solo home runs.
Olivia Roberts hit the first bomb of her career, and one batter later, Alexander hit her second of the game. Ball State got one back in the bottom half, but the Dawgs remained in front, 7-6, and were six outs from victory.
Katie Petran (1.0-IP, 2R, 2H, 2K) started in the circle for Butler and pitched the first inning.
Rylyn Dyer (1.0-IP, 3R, 0ER, 3H, K) entered at the top of the second and pitched well into the third. She was relieved by
Maren Berger (1-2) who entered in the third, pitched through the fourth, and was credited with the win. In 2.0 innings of work, Berger allowed only one hit and no runs, facing seven batters and producing one strikeout.
Alyx Johnson (2.0-IP, R, 3H, K) covered the fifth and sixth innings, and
Kate Murray retired the side in the seventh to pick up a save.
Bulldog Bits
- With two home runs in the contest, Alexander has six in the past seven games. She now has 11 this season and 23 in her career.
- The home run by Roberts was a career first.
- The double by Robards was her ninth this season and the 20th of her career.
- Boydston's double was her second this season and in her career.
- Berger's win in the circle was her first as a Butler Bulldog.
- Murray's save was a career first, and it represented the first save for the Butler pitching staff this season.
Up Next
Butler will travel this weekend to Queens, N.Y., for a three-game BIG EAST series at St. John's. First pitch of game one is scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m.
