The Butler softball team went 3-1 in conference play last weekend.

The Bulldogs (17-19, 6-4) split a double-header with Fordham Sunday.

In the first game, Rams (25-16, 9-5) senior Jamie LaBovick hit a home run over the left field wall to start the game.

Fordham scored two more runs in the second inning before being shut out by junior Leah Bry. But it was enough.

Rams sophomore pitcher Michele Daubman blanked the Bulldogs, finishing with three strikeouts and no walks.

In game two, Butler struck first, scoring a run in the bottom of the fourth inning on a double by junior Krista Hakola.

Fordham countered in the top of the sixth with another home run from LaBovick.

In the top of the eighth LaBovick scored on a fielder’s choice to take a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the eighth, sophomore Kristen Boros reached on an infield single. Boros scored on a single by freshman Audrey East.

Senior Devin Brierly came in to pinch-run and scored the winning run off a hit from senior Devin Dearing.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs swept conference opponent La Salle in a doubleheader. The final scores were 15-1 and 2-0.

The team is at home this weekend with doubleheaders against St. Joseph’s and Temple.

The Butler softball team split the first two games of its three-game series against Horizon League rival Wright State yesterday.

Photo by Josh Morris

In the first game of the series, the Bulldogs (17-26, 7-7) grabbed a 5-1 victory.

Butler got on the board early with a two-out RBI double from senior catcher Mallory Winters.

Then, with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth inning, senior Alyssa Coleman recorded a pinch hit, three-run double to pad Butler’s lead.

The Bulldogs added one more run in the sixth inning.

In the second game, Butler started out strong again.

Freshman third baseman Callie Dennison scored on a single by junior Meaghan Sullivan in the bottom of the first inning.

The Raiders (18-24, 6-8) tied it up in the second inning before the Bulldogs added an unearned run in the third inning.

Errors would plague Butler the rest of game.

The Raiders added two runs in fifth—both unearned—as a result of Butler fielding errors.

The Bulldogs tried to rally in the bottom of the sixth inning, but mistakes on the base paths prevented them from scoring.

“It came down to four errors and some critical base-running mistakes,” coach Scott Hall said. “We have to be able to execute.”

The bright spot for Butler were  solid pitching performances from sophomore Leah Bry in both games.

“Leah was awesome today,” Hall said. “We just have to do a better job of playing defense and backing her up.”

Last weekend, the Bulldogs won one game in a three-game series against conference opponent Green Bay.

Butler lost the first game 4-1, not getting a hit until the seventh inning.

Bry took the loss for the Bulldogs.

The second game was a different story, with the Bulldogs recording a season-high 17 hits and winning by a 9-8 margin.

Butler got out of the gate quickly, scoring four runs in the first inning.

Three of the runs came from a swing of the bat, as senior outfielder Lauren McNulty cracked a three-run home run.

The Phoenix (15-17, 4-5) answered back and took a 7-4 lead into the sixth inning.

In the top of that inning, freshman infielder Kristen Boros hit a solo home run to cut the lead to two.

Butler then tied the game with two runs in the seventh inning.

McNulty broke the 7-7 deadlock in the 10th inning with a solo shot to center field.

It was her sixth long ball of the season.

The Bulldogs added an insurance run with a double from freshman Maria Leichty and an RBI single from Winters, giving the Bulldogs the 9-8 win.

Senior pitcher Breanna Fisher picked up her fourth win of the season.

In the final game of the series, the Phoenix recorded 13 hits and scored 11 runs in just four innings.

Photo by Josh Morris

Butler had only four hits and three runs in the 11-3 loss.

The Bulldogs did pick up a non-conference win last Thursday against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Butler had five hits and a shut-out performance from Bry on the way to 4-0 victory.

The Bulldogs will finish the three-game series against Wright State today.

Butler will then close out its six-game homestand with a three-game series against Detroit this weekend.

The Butler softball team was one inning away from sweeping its three-game homestand against Loyola of Chicago last weekend.

Photo by Rachel Anderson

The Bulldogs (9-21, 3-3) were unable to accomplish the feat, though, and finished the weekend with two victories.

In the first game against the Ramblers (10-14, 3-3), junior pitcher Jenny Esparza made her first start at home and led Butler to a 2-0 win.

Esparza, who was later named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week, fired a three-hit shutout, finishing with seven strikeouts and one walk.

Butler recorded only four hits in the contest, but they proved to be enough. Junior first baseman Meaghan Sullivan had two hits, and RBI were recorded by senior centerfielder Lauren McNulty and shortstop Kayla Gray.

In the second game of the series, Loyola staged a fifth-inning comeback to defeat Butler 5-4.

McNulty hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 advantage.

Butler increased its lead in the bottom of the third inning with a run-scoring double by Sullivan, who later scored on a sacrifice bunt by McNulty.

Errors cost the Bulldogs though.

Two defensive miscues in the top of the fifth inning led to a two-out grand slam by Loyola sophomore first baseman Lauren Zaworski.

Butler sophomore pitcher Leah Bry took the loss for the Bulldogs despite not allowing an earned run in five innings of work.

In the rubber game of the series, Butler defeated Loyola 4-0.

The Bulldogs took advantage of a fielding error and two walks to get on the board in the bottom of the first inning.

They extended their lead with an RBI double by Gray in the bottom of the fourth inning and a two-run double by senior right fielder Jessica Huey in the fifth inning.

Esparza started the game for Butler and recorded another victory. She finished with five strikeouts and allowed two hits in four innings of work.

Senior pitcher Breanna Fisher came on in relief of Esparza and scored a save.

The conference games against Loyola followed an 8-1 victory over Michigan State last Thursday.

Esparza pitched four innings and earned what would be the first of three consecutive victories.

Butler is taking on Indiana State in a doubleheader today and will host Illinois-Chicago for three games this weekend.

The Butler softball team placed second at the Woo Pig Classic on Sunday after a 6-5 loss to host Arkansas in the championship game.

The Bulldogs (3-5) sent the game into extra innings with a run in the top of the seventh inning and took the lead, 5-3, in the top of the eighth inning after a two-run home run by senior catcher Mallory Winters.

But the Razorbacks (16-2) staged a comeback in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring three runs to defeat the Bulldogs.

“We felt we played well in the last game of the tournament, but we aren’t satisfied with placing second,” sophomore infielder Krista Hakola said. “We know we have the potential to do better so we want to continue working hard to get better and use this as a learning experience.”

Butler’s second victory of the tournament was a 3-0 win over Drake (6-11) earlier in the day.

Butler senior Breanna Fisher and sophomore Leah Bry combined to pitch a three-hit shutout in the contest.

“We worked on keeping up our intensity and focus throughout games and maintaining pressure on the other teams so as to not let them think they had a chance to make a comeback against us,” Hakola said.

The Bulldogs lost to Arkansas 3-1 in their second game of the tournament after Razorbacks’ sophomore infielder Chloe Oprzedeck hit a walk-off home run.

The Bulldogs started the Classic with a 5-1 win against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis on Saturday.

“We won our first game but definitely came out knowing we had areas to improve on,” Hakola said. “We knew we had to keep the intensity we had in the first couple innings throughout the entire game and not let up.”

The Bulldogs will continue their season in the Bayer CropScience Classic Friday through Sunday. They will face off against San Diego State, Oregon, California and host Fresno State in the event.

The Butler softball team grabbed two wins in a four-game series against three teams in Evansville last weekend.

The Bulldogs (2-4) took control early in their final game of the weekend, defeating host Evansville 3-2.

Butler tallied two runs in the first inning and added another in the third inning to capture the victory.

Junior pitcher Jenny Esparza recorded 12 strikeouts and senior third baseman Lauren McNulty and senior catcher Mallory Winters each had two hits in the game.

On Sunday Butler played its second game against Missouri-Kansas City but lost 1-0 in eight innings.

Senior pitchers Leah Bry and Breanna Fisher combined to hold the Kangaroos (6-4) to four hits on the day, but UMKC scored the only run of the game after a throwing error by the Bulldogs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

In the first game between the teams, two Kangaroo pitchers combined to hold the Bulldogs scoreless on five hits in a 2-0 win for UMKC.

Esparza took the tough-luck loss for Butler, allowing five hits and three walks while striking out nine.

The Bulldogs started the weekend strong with a decisive 8-0 win over Detroit.

Bry recorded a one-hit shutout and was supported by 10 hits.

The Bulldogs will travel to Arkansas to play in the Woo Pig Classic this weekend.