Senior Mackenzie Griman has a career-high seven wins on the season. Photo by Claire Runkel.
APRIL KIRTS | SPORTS REPORTER | akirts@butler.edu
Friday, March 31
Softball at Creighton
The Butler softball team continued their undefeated run in the Big East on Friday with a 10-2 win over Creighton. Paige Dorsett started off the offensive play for the Bulldogs with a solo homerun in the third inning. Three more runs scored in the top of the third before the Bluejays sent two home. Monique Hoosen started off the fifth inning with a solo home run, followed by Olivia Moxley hitting in Ellie Boyer and Cate Lehner. After a Bluejays pitching change, Moxley added to her RBI total for the game and sent Teagan O’Rilley home. Other runs in the sixth were accounted for by walks and a sacrifice bunt by Lehner. To finish off the game, Dorsett sent another one over the fence for her second home run of the day. Mackenzie Griman pitched a complete game for her fifth win in the last six games. She allowed only two runs on five hits with three strikeouts.
Saturday, April 1
Baseball vs. Eastern Illinois
The Butler baseball team fell to Eastern Illinois on Saturday with a score of 12-0. The Panther’s pitcher, Tyler Conklin, limited the Bulldogs to just two hits over the five innings pitched. Butler’s Cory Bosecker pitched the first five for the Bulldogs before switching it over to Luke Zmolik for the final three. Carter Dorighi, Keegan Connors and Evan Parks accounted for the three total hits for the Bulldogs. Butler’s record fell to 5-20 after the loss.
Lacrosse vs. Xavier
The Butler women’s lacrosse team picked up their first Big East win in program history against Xavier in a 19-12 game. Patricia Lynn started off the game strong for the Bulldogs with two unassisted goals in the first five minutes. Campbell Connors added another before Xavier put up two of their own in the first half of the first period. The second half repeated the same pattern to end the period with the Bulldogs leading 6-4. The second period consisted of nine shots and five Bulldogs adding to the score. Caroline Smith and the rest of the Bulldogs’ defense held the Musketeers to four goals to end the second period with a score of 11-8. The defense sealed the deal for the Bulldogs in the third period. Four saves by Smith and four turnovers by the defense held off the Musketeers. In the final period of the game, Leah Rubino added back-to-back goals before Connors would add another to cushion the Bulldogs’ lead. Xavier added three quick goals in under a minute with six left to play. Butler’s record advances to 5-4 after their first conference showing.
Softball vs. Creighton
The Butler softball team picked up their second win in the Big East series against Creighton on Saturday 10-0. The Bulldogs started the game strong with O’Rilley knocking in Sydney Carter in the top of the first inning. Dorsett and O’Rilley both sent runners home in the third inning, increasing the Bulldogs’ lead to 3-0. The fourth inning consisted of Boyer getting on with a double and Moxley hitting her in. Hoosen started off the fifth and final inning of the day with a two-run home run, hitting in O’Reilly. Other runs from Boyer, Cate Lehner and Gross concluded the inning with the Bulldogs up 10-0. Sydney Cammon pitched a complete game for the Bulldogs allowing only two hits in five innings. The Bulldogs advanced to 8-0 in the Big East and 14-19 overall after this win.
Track and field at Washington University Distance Carnival
The Butler track and field team competed at two different meets this weekend. Six athletes traveled to the Washington University Distance Carnival on Saturday, April 1 with several podium finishes and new personal bests. Morgan Werner broke her personal best in the women’s 3,000-meter race by 10 seconds while placing third. Nick Doud timed his personal best in the men’s 10,000-meter race by shaving 30 seconds off of his previous record. The Bulldogs compete again next weekend, April 8, at the Fighting Illini Challenge in Champaign, Illinois.
Men’s golf at IUK Spring Invitational
The Butler men’s golf team sent four individual players to the IU – Kokomo Invitational this weekend. The 36-hole tournament was shortened to 18 holes due to harsh winds and cold temperatures. Despite the brutal weather conditions, the Bulldogs finished with the top three finishers on the podium. First-year Kenny Leseur took medalist honors with an even-par shot of 72. Teammates Derek Tabor and Henry Quinn followed in second and third place. Leo Zurovac tied for the fifth-place title with a score of 81. The IU-Kokomo team took home the team title with a score of 332 points. The Bulldogs will compete again at the Hoosier Collegiate Invitational in Bloomington, Indiana on April 8 – 9.
Sunday, April 2
Softball vs. Creighton
The Bulldogs lost the third game to Creighton in the Big East series this weekend. With wins in two out of the three games, Butler won the series and remains on top of the Big East standings. Creighton jumped on the Bulldogs early, scoring seven runs in the first inning off of eight hits and two home runs. The second inning ended with the Bulldogs trailing 9-0 after another home run and two runs by the Bluejays. Moxley, Gross and Carter all strung together three consecutive singles in the top of the third. Moxley was the only Bulldog to cross home for the day. Mackenzie Griman started in the circle for the Bulldogs before getting switched out for Sydney Cammon in the first inning. Cammon stayed through two outs in the second inning before Rylyn Dyer came in to finish the game. Dyer allowed no runs for the remainder of the second through the fifth. The game finished with the Bulldogs trailing 9-1. This loss put Butler’s record to 8-1 in conference play and 14-20 overall.
Baseball vs. Eastern Illinois
The Butler baseball team fought a 14-inning battle against Eastern Illinois University and came up with a 6-5 win to start the doubleheader. The Bulldogs produced 17 hits, the final one coming from Parks to score Garret Gray in the top of the 14th. The Panthers started the game off strong scoring in the third and fifth inning. Butler came back in the sixth inning and scored consecutively until the ninth when the Panthers tied everything up. The score held steady at 5-5 until the 14th inning. Lukas Galdoni started in the circle for the Bulldogs with six strikeouts until he was switched out for Barokas. Barokas held steady for the next 4.2 innings before Dawson Taylor came in to finish the game.
The Bulldogs pulled through to sweep the Panthers in a 2-0 win to end the day. Xavier Carter started Butler’s offense with a home run in the top of the second inning. Nick Miketinac started in the circle before Cole Graverson came in during the third inning and took the Bulldogs the rest of the way. He struck out five batters and only allowed one hit and let up no walks. The second run of the game came from Joey Urban taking home on a wild pitch to cushion the Bulldog’s lead in the sixth inning. These two wins for the Bulldogs bring their record to 7-20.
Men’s tennis at Notre Dame
The Butler men’s tennis team lost their match at Notre Dame on April 3. This match concluded non-conference play for the Bulldogs and set them up with an 11-9 record. Butler took the top half of the matches and Notre Dame took the bottom. Thomas Brennan was the top singles player winning in two sets. Brennan has won his last four sets and sits at 13-5 from the No. 1 position. Alvaro Huete Vadillo also won a straight set of his own at the No. 2 position. Borja Miralles took the third court home for the Bulldogs with a comeback to complete the top-half sweep. The Bulldogs are set to compete against Xavier on April 8 at home.
Track and field at Pacesetter Invitational
The track and field team traveled to Terre Haute, Indiana to compete in the Pacesetter Invitational. Notable finishes include Isaac Kane’s outdoor track debut where he placed first in the men’s 400-meter dash. The women’s team finished fifth overall with multiple personal records broken. Elsa Rusthoven earned a new lifetime best in the 1,500-meter run complete with a third-place finish. Teammates Abby Fostveit and Lexi Affolter were not far behind, placing fourth and sixth in the 1,500-meter run. Molly Kracht finished fifth in the javelin throw and Reagan Kelly completed the top finishes with a third place in the 400-meter dash.
Monday, April 3
Women’s golf at Colonel Classic
The Butler women’s golf team traveled to Richmond, Kentucky to compete in the Colonel Classic hosted by Eastern Kentucky University from April 3-4. After the first day, Butler stands in 10th place before entering the final round. Katie Steinman is tied for 11th place. Steinman shot an even 72 par on Monday’s morning round, capitalizing on three birdies. She continued the day with a 75 (+3) in the afternoon to combine for a score of 147 (+3). The Bulldogs shot rounds of 301 and 303 on Monday with a total of 604 (+28) heading into the second day of the competition.
Tuesday, April 4
Softball vs. Dayton
The Butler softball team fell short to the Dayton Flyers 4-2. The Bulldogs started with a 2-0 lead after three complete innings. After laying down a bunt and stealing second, Cate Lehner was knocked in by Sydney Carter. Kieli Ryan followed with a single to right center to send Carter in. The Flyers responded in the fourth and fifth inning by getting a runner home in each. In the seventh and final inning, the Bulldogs couldn’t respond to Dayton’s two runs from two walks and a double to send them in. Rylyn Dyer started in the circle for the Bulldogs and didn’t allow a single run. Sydney Cammon came in for the fourth and fifth before getting switched out by Kayla Noerr who finished the last two innings.
Women’s Golf at Colonel Classic
The women’s golf team finished in eighth place after their two day meet at the Colonel Classic in Richmond, Kentucky. The team combined for a total score of 905 (+41) which brought them two spots higher on the leaderboard after their showing on Monday. Alaina Bowie, Kelli Scheck and Lily Celentano all carded three over 75s during Tuesday’s final round. Katie Steinman was the top finisher for the Bulldogs overall. She tied for 20th at a score of 224 (+8) after shooting 77 on Tuesday. Steinman and Scheck each carded birdies on Tuesday, and Celentano had a pair of birdies and an eagle. The Bulldogs are headed to Ohio for the Bowling Green Invitational from April 7-8.
