#BIGEASTsb Faces Last Weekend of Nonconference Play
NEW YORK – With one week left before conference play begins, BIG EAST teams look to wrap up their nonconference schedule with winning streaks.
Butler
The Bulldogs (11-11) look to extend their momentum after registering an impressive 4-1 mark at the Under Armour Showcase last week. Overall, Butler came out of spring break with a 5-2 record with its only losses to Central Michigan (2-1) and La Salle (2-1). Butler was victorious over Fort Wayne (5-1), Monmouth (5-2), Yale (5-4), South Florida (5-1) and Central Connecticut State (3-1). Butler has put together a .462 batting average as a team this season, led by sophomore Zoe St. Cyr, who boasts a .500 batting average. Freshman Gabbi Schnaiter leads the team in pitching with 35 strikeouts. This weekend, the Bulldogs travel to Edwardsville, Ill. for the SIUE Tournament, where Butler takes on Toledo, Northern Kentucky and Ball State.
Creighton
Following a weekend off from competition, the Bluejays close out tournament play with five games in three days at the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City. At the tournament, Creighton faces-off against Valparaiso, South Dakota State, South Dakota and host, Iowa. Creighton is led offensively by
Tash Coffiel, who holds a .286 batting average with a team-high 14 hits after going 5-for-11 during four games in Phoenix.
Michal Hylton leads the Bluejays with 51.2 innings pitched. The sophomore has four complete games, 26 strikeouts and a 5.28 ERA. She has pitched in a team-high 13 contests.
DePaul
DePaul (11-8) enters the weekend on a two-game win streak after going 2-2 overall at the Rebel Classic last weekend in Las Vegas. Krista Dalgarn and Haydn Christensen led the team with four hits each. Overall, the Blue Demons have hammered out 127 hits this season. Traveling to California for six games over the span of five days, DePaul heads to Los Angeles for the Loyola Marymount Tournament, March 17-19, to conclude its tournament schedule for the season. In the tournament, the Blue Demons take on Dartmouth, Sacramento State, No.9/10 Oklahoma State and host, Loyola Marymount.
Georgetown
The Hoyas (4-15) are coming off a five-game road trip in the Lone Star State that saw the team finish with a 1-4 record against Prairie View A&M, Texas A&M, UTSA and Houston. Sarah Bennett was key in run production for GU finishing with a home run and six RBIs. In the circle, Katie Vannicola picked up her first win of the season, coming on in relief to pitch the extra inning against Prairie View A&M and did not surrender a run. This weekend, Georgetown concludes its series of nonconference road trips with a visit to North Carolina for the Lafayette Ford Lincoln of Fayetteville Showcase, hosted by UNC-Wilmington, where GU matches up against St. Bonaventure, UMass-Lowell and UNC-Wilmington.
Providence
Inclement weather and poor field conditions have canceled Providence’s (6-12) weekend games against Holy Cross and Central Connecticut. The Friars are set to return to the field on Wednesday, March 22
nd, with a doubleheader against Rhode Island. This season, Providence is paced by Nicole Lundstrom and Emma Lee. Lundstrom is currently batting a team-high .426 while Lee comes in second with a .368 average. Together they have combined for 48 hits and 32 runs.
St. John’s
After having its St. John's Invitational cancelled this weekend due to snowfall, the Red Storm (11-8) will travel to Virginia for a doubleheader against Radford scheduled for Sunday, March 19th. The Johnnies have won six of their last seven games, with the only loss coming from Morehead State at the Buccaneer Classic. Overall, St. John’s has six players batting over .300 and leads its opponents in hits at 154-131.
Seton Hall
The Pirates (9-9-1) most recently completed an 11-game spring break trip to California, finishing the trip with a 3-7-1 record after a series of tight setbacks. The Hall returns to action this weekend to host the Inaugural Pirate Invitational at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field. The Hall will host Brown, Hartford, Iona and Saint Peter's over the course of March 17-20 in the first regular-season tournament in the program's history. As a team, Seton Hall is batting .282 and scoring 5.8 runs per game on the year.
Alexis Walkden leads the Pirates at the dish with a .383 average, five home runs, 10 doubles, 16 RBIs and 21 runs scored
Villanova
Inclement weather and unplayable field conditions will keep the Wildcats (9-6) off the field this weekend. With the cancelation of Towson’s Tiger Classic Tournament, Villanova will close out its nonconference schedule with midweek matchups against the University of Delaware and Rider on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. Villanova last played in the USF Under Armour Showcase, where the Wildcats were paced by BIG EAST Player of the Week, Lauren Hanna. Hanna was 9-for-18 (.500) at the plate at the tournament with a run and RBI. She was 2-for-4 in games against Canisius and South Dakota State and she recorded the only two Villanova hits in the matchup with Purdue. Hanna also played a key role in the Wildcats’ victories against Monmouth and Yale, going 1-for-4 with a RBI and 2-for-3 with a run scored, respectively.