#BIGEASTsb Teams Battle For Top Seeds Down the Stretch
NEW YORK – With only two weekends left in the BIG EAST Softball season, teams vie to clinch a spot in the four-team BIG EAST Softball Championship presented by Jeep from May 10-11. League-leading St. John’s will look to secure a berth this weekend with just one win against Villanova. Second-place DePaul tries to keep pace with the Red Storm as it hosts Creighton for a three-game series. Sunday’s finale between the Blue Demons and Bluejays will be featured on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN), beginning at noon ET.
Butler traveled to Ball State during the week and fell to the Cardinals, 3-2. The Bulldogs held a lead until the sixth inning when Ball State hit a two-run home run to take the lead and eventual win. Despite the loss, starting pitcher Alyssa Graves had 10 strikeouts in 5.1 innings and allowed just two hits. Butler heads to Providence for a league series against the Friars starting on Saturday.
Creighton dropped a doubleheader at South Dakota State on Tuesday, each by just one run. Kiara Mills went 3-for-3 in game one and hit her team-leading eighth home run in the second game. Kailey Wilson was 2-for-2 and added three RBI and scored a run in game two for the Bluejays. They meet DePaul over the weekend for BIG EAST action.
DePaul was idle during the week as the Blue Demons get set to welcome Creighton for a three-game set this weekend. Sunday’s contest is this weekend’s featured matchup on BEDN with coverage starting at noon ET.
Georgetown notched a non-conference win on Wednesday at George Mason, 9-6. The Hoyas collected five runs in the fifth inning to secure the win over the Patriots. Savannah Jones led the offense, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Mae Forshey also recorded three RBI along with her ninth double. Georgetown will visit Seton Hall for conference play this weekend.
Providence was tripped up in a midweek, non-conference tilt on the road at Fordham, 5-3. The Friars fell behind early; giving up four runs in the first inning and were never able to recover. Mackensie Compton scored all three runs for Providence, along with an RBI. The Friars will host Butler over the weekend in BIG EAST action.
St. John’s fell at Iona on Wednesday in a midweek matchup, 7-2. The Red Storm led 2-0 before the Gaels poured on five runs in the bottom of the third inning. Peyton Cody tallied her team-leading 40
th RBI in the top of the third to give St. John’s their second run. The Johnnies will welcome Villanova as they look to clinch the first spot in the BIG EAST Championship.
Seton Hall split a doubleheader against Lehigh on Wednesday. The Pirates won the first game, 9-7, but dropped the second contest, 6-0. In the first outing, Seton Hall came back from down six runs to claim the victory. Katherine Matthys led the offense, going 2-for-4 with a bases-clearing triple in the third inning. She finished with four RBI and scored one run. In game two, the Pirates fell behind early again and could not recover a second time as the Mountain Hawks ran away with the win. Georgetown will visit The Hall over the weekend for league play.
Villanova was triumphant in an offense-heavy game against Delaware on Wednesday as the two teams totaled 25 runs. The final score was 16-9 in favor of the Wildcats. The Blue Hens put six runs across in the top of the first inning, but Villanova came right back with eight runs in the bottom half of the frame. The teams combined for 10 runs in the fourth inning as Delaware scored three and Villanova added seven runs. Kendall Ohman went 4-for-5 at the plate, while both Angela Giampolo and Caroline Jones collected four RBI each. The Wildcats head to St. John’s for a BIG EAST series this weekend.
BIG EAST Softball Weekend Schedule
Saturday, April 27
BUTLER at PROVIDENCE at 12 p.m.
GEORGETOWN at SETON HALL at 12 p.m.
VILLANOVA at ST. JOHN’S at 12 p.m.
CREIGHTON at DEPAUL at 1 p.m.
BUTLER at PROVIDENCE at 2 p.m.
GEORGETOWN at SETON HALL at 2 p.m.
VILLANOVA AT ST. JOHN’S at 2 p.m.
CREIGHTON at DEPAUL at 3 p.m.
Sunday, April 28
BUTLER at PROVIDENCE at 12 p.m.
CREIGHTON at DEPAUL at 12 p.m. (
BEDN)
GEORGETOWN at SETON HALL at 12 p.m.
VILLANOVA at ST. JOHN’S at 12 p.m.
All times Eastern.