DATE:                              Thursday-Saturday, April 2-4
LOCATION:                    Indianapolis, Ind. / Butler Softball Field
LIVE STATS:                   butlersports.com (statbroadcast)
LIVE VIDEO:                   N/A
 
The Butler softball team hosts Creighton this week for a three-game BIG EAST series. The Bulldogs (16-10, 8-1 BIG EAST) took last weekend's series at St. John's, 2-1, after defeating Ball State on the road, 7-6. The BlueJays (18-18*, 7-2 BIG EAST) swept Seattle last weekend and lost to Nebraska on Tuesday evening. Butler currently sits atop the conference standings while Creighton and Providence are one game behind in second place.
 
Bulldog Bits                                                            
 
            (as of 3/30/26)

• As a team, Butler leads the BIG EAST and (ranks nationally) with 6.69 RBIs/game (26th), 7.15 runs/game (30th), 15 double plays (36th), and a .319 batting average (61st).
• Makena Alexander leads the BIG EAST and is (ranked nationally) in several categories:
  .616 on base% (5th), .520 avg. (6th), 1.080 Slug% (8th), and 44 RBI (24th), and 11 home runs (63rd).
• Hailey Conger ranks in the BIG EAST and is (ranked nationally) in several categories:
  1st (10th) with 1.42 runs/game, 2nd (95th) with .430 avg., 2nd (61st) with 1.19 RBIs/game, and 3rd (59th) with .533 on base%.
• Cate Lehner leads the BIG EAST (16th nationally) with 21 stolen bases, and she is also 1st (13th) with 48.0 at bats per strikeout.

           last week, at Ball State (W, 7-6) and at St. John's (W, 3-2 | L, 4-1 | W, 9-8)

• Makena Alexander (.455 avg, 5-for-11, 4R, 2HR, 4RBI, 1.000 SLG%, 3BB, 3K, .571 OB%)
  Alexander hit two solo home runs in the win at Ball State In the Bulldogs' 3-2 game-one win over St. John's, she had a two-RBI single in the fifth that gave Butler its second and third runs.
• Katie Petran (3.68 ERA, 2-0, 3APP, 3GS, 1CG)
  Petran pitched a complete-game victory in Butler's 3-2 game-one win over St. John's. In game three, she started and pitched into the fifth inning and then returned to the rubber in the seventh. With the bases loaded and no outs, Petran produced a strikeout and then forced a line out to first base and a popup to shortstop, preserving the one-run lead and ending the game.
• Kayla Preiss (.385 avg, 5-for-13, 2B, 3B, 5RBI)
  Preiss had a career-high four RBIs in the 9-8 win in game three at St. John's. Her first-inning double plated one, then, in the second inning, her bases-loaded triple brought home three more.
   
• The Bulldogs' 8-1 start in BIG EAST competition (Villanova, Seton Hall, St. John's) matches their 8-1 start in 2023 (DePaul, Providence, Creighton).

Series History

• Creighton leads: 19-13
• The Bluejays swept Butler in the 2025 series and won the 2024 series, 2-1.
• Creighton defeated Butler in BE Tournament games in 2025 and 2024.
• Creighton has won the last seven contests.
• Butler won one game in the 2024 series, two in the 2023 series, and swept the 2022 series.

SCOUTING CREIGHTON (18-19, 7-2 BIG EAST)
BIG EAST series: 3-0 vs. Villanova | 1-2 vs. Providence | 3-0 at Seton Hall

• Additional wins for Creighton include Kansas City (2), Drake, Seattle, and South Dakota.
• Additional losses for the Bluejays include #17 Arizona, Omaha, Iowa State, Wichita St., and Colorado St.
• Creighton went 1-2 vs. Northern Colorado and split with UT Arlington. 

2026 CREIGHTON stats compared to (Butler)
Avg. .307, (.317), Runs 234 (185), Hits 296 (214), RBI 214 (173), SB 80 (48), ERA 5.32 (5.60)