NEW YORK –The field for the 2017 BIG EAST Softball Championship presented by Jeep was solidified on Sunday as St. John’s, DePaul, Villanova and Butler closed out the regular season as the top four teams in the conference for a second consecutive year. With DePaul serving as host, the BIG EAST Championship is set for May 12 and 13 at The Ballpark at Rosemont, located in suburban Chicago.
Top-seeded St. John’s will matchup up against No.4 Butler in the first semifinal on Friday, May 12 at 1 p.m. ET while No.2 DePaul will play No.3 Villanova in the 4 p.m. semifinal. Both semifinals and the championship finale will air on FS2.
No.1 St. John’s claimed the top seed and its second regular-season title in the past three years with a 2-1 win in its series opener against Seton Hall on Saturday. The win pushed the Red Storm to a five-game winning streak and garnered the Johnnies their 15
th league victory this season.
St. John’s will challenge reigning BIG EAST Champion, fourth-seeded Butler. In last year’s championship, the Bulldogs outpaced St. John’s 10-8 in extra-innings to win the 2016 conference title. The teams last met in April, when the Johnnies swept the Bulldogs 3-0 in the fourth weekend of league play.
No.2 DePaul and No.3 Villanova squared off last weekend in Villanova, Pa., when the Wildcats blanked the Blue Demons 3-0 for the first time in program history. Villanova won by scores of 7-4, 8-2, and 9-2, powered by Brette Lawrence and Nikki Alden, who were named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on May 1. Lawrence went 2-0 on the mound against DePaul with a 2.67 ERA while Alden batted .636 during the series with four RBIs and a .727 slugging percentage.
Tickets for the 2017 BIG EAST Conference Championship are on sale now, and can be
purchased here.
BIG EAST Softball Championship presented by Jeep
The Ballpark at Rosemont
Chicago, Ill.
Semifinals - Friday, May 12
No. 1 St. John’s vs. No.4 Butler at 1 p.m.
No. 2 Villanova at No. 3 DePaul at 4 p.m.
Final – Saturday, May 13
Semifinal Winners, at 2:30 p.m.
All Times Eastern