Butler (4-1) opened the weekend at the Rambler Rumbler in Rosemont, Ill. where the Bulldogs posted four wins with its lone loss coming to tournament hosts Loyola Chicago, 4-3. Sophomore Lauren Fey led the way at the plate for the Bulldogs. Fey hit .600 while scoring eight runs and securing nine hits during 15 at-bats. Fey was dominant on the bases with four stolen bases and an on base percentage of .700. Fellow Sophomore Karli Ricketts led the way in the circle with a 2-0 mark and a 1.50 ERA. Ricketts struck out 15 batters and walked only five in wins against Evansville and Western Illinois.
Creighton (3-2) kicked off the 2020 campaign at the H-E-B Classic in San Antonio. After dropping the first contest to Toledo, 2-0, the Bluejays responded with back-to-back wins while shattering program records. CU took down North Dakota 7-5 behind a combined five RBI's between Mileah McKelvy and Kailey Wilson and a Kiele Miller save in 1.2 innings of work. The Bluejays turned in a program record 24 runs in a 24-1 bounce back victory over Toledo. Senior Ashley Cantu went 5-for-5 with four RBI, two doubles and two runs. CU closed out the weekend with a 9-6 victory over hosts Incarnate Word behind Miller's seven strikeouts.
Villanova (3-2) begun the season with its first of three consecutive trips to Florida with the Jacksonville tournament. The Wildcats split a pair of meetings with San Diego State and Jacksonville before claiming the lone meeting with Nicholls State, 6-0. Paige Rauch, 2019 BIG EAST Player of the Year, went 3-0 on the weekend in the circle for the Wildcats. Rauch was also dominant in the plate for VU, knocking out three home runs in opening weekend. In a win against Jacksonville, freshman Chloe Smith went 3-for-3 at the plate with three hits and two RBI.
Seton Hall (2-2) split opening weekend at the Elon Softball Classic, picking up wins against Elon and Rhode Island while dropping the season opener to Longwood and the tournament finale to URI. Rookie Abby Wingo led the Pirates at the plate amassing 6 RBI, four runs and two stolen bases. Janae Barracato also exploded for 6 RBI, three doubles, two walks and one run on opening weekend. In a 17-6 rout of Elon, Shelby Smith picked up her first collegiate win with 4.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Preseason BIG EAST favorite,
DePaul (2-3) picked up two wins at the UNI Dome Classic. The Blue Demons recorded wins over South Dakota and Drake while dropping contests to South Dakota State, Northern Iowa and the tournament finale against Drake. Erin Andris led the Blue Demons offensively with three home runs, seven RBI to go along with six hits on a .353 batting average. Krista Dalgarn and Natalie Halvorson picked up wins in the circle with 17 strikeouts in a total of 26 innings pitched.
Georgetown (0-5) opened up play at the FGCU Kickoff Classic. Mae Forshey led the way at the plate with three hits and .200 hitting percentage while Noelle Holiday posted an RBI on the weekend. London Diller led the way in the circle for the Hoyas. Diller posted a 1.75 ERA while striking out 18 batters in 16 innings of work.
St. John's (
0-5), 2019 BIG EAST regular-season champion, began the 2020 season at the Black and Gold Tournament facing Clemson, Duke, Indiana and UCF. Kaitlin Mattera led the Red Storm at the plate with a team-high seven hits, four RBI and two-multi-hit games. The senior posted a .438 batting average on the weekend after going 4-for-5 against Clemson with two RBI. Erin Brown led all pitchers in the circle with a 5.84 ERA and eight strikeouts in 12 innings of work.