by Ben Wheeler
While basketball is nearing a close, spring has just begun, and spring sports are now in full throttle. Here’s a recap of games from the last week and a brief overview of what is to come.
Baseball
Butler has had a rough start this season, with a record of 2-14 going into last week. However, Butler had four games to catch up in the standings. The team traveled to Northwestern, where they played two-game series. The Bulldogs lost the first game but got in the win column on Sunday with a 3-2 victory. Butler then played at home on Tuesday, where they got the dub 9-7. Both victories were led by graduate student infielder Jake DeFries whom he had a three-hit game in the first win, and two sacrifice flies in the second. However, yesterday would not bode well for the boys as they were defeated 19-2 at the hands of Ball State. Butler is scheduled to have four more games this week, traveling to Cincinnati for a three-game stand this weekend and Notre Dame on Tuesday.
Softball
The softball team has been on a tear looking to win their fifth straight game. They were previously supposed to play a three-game stand at St. John’s, but it was canceled due to weather. This led to only one game this week, where they won against IUPUI 6-3. They were led by redshirt sophomore Paige Dorsett, who has 15 hits this season and a batting average of .319. Butler will look to keep it going as they travel to Providence for a three-game series this weekend and play in-state rival Indiana Tuesday.
Lacrosse
Starting the year 2-2, the women’s lacrosse team was looking to get above the .500 mark. Unfortunately, that did not go as planned. It would be a tough test as the girls would go down 10-9 in triple overtime against Winthrop. Emmie Ridgeway had a strong performance, leading the team with two goals and an assist. It got worse yesterday when the team took a tough defeat at Cincinnati, 17-3. Butler will look to get back on track on Saturday against Detroit Mercy and Eastern Michigan on Sunday.
Men’s and women’s tennis
Starting with the men’s, the boys took the win against Bellarmine but lost on Saturday at Vanderbilt. Thomas Brennan won each match very comfortably, improving his record to 10-5. But it would be tough for everyone else; they would lose to Vanderbilt 4-3 and the team is now 10-7 on the season. On the women’s side, they traveled to Miami of Ohio where they would lose 6-1. Natalie Boesing won her only match, improving her record to 8-6. However, the team’s record fell to 6-10. The women have a busy weekend as they will play two matches on Saturday against IUPUI and Bellamire. Then they will travel to St. Louis on Sunday. The men play DePaul on Saturday and travel to Purdue on Sunday.
Track and field
Lastly, we look at track and field, where they traveled to Miami of Ohio for the Blizzard Buster meet. Freshman William Zegraski won the 3,000 meters in his debut with a time of 8:18.62. Junior Jack Elder won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.37, a personal best. Reagan Kelly placed third in the 200 meters on the women’s side in 26.11 seconds. This weekend, Butler will travel to Raleigh, North Carolina for the Raleigh Relays meet.
