Butler and Providence are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2016, but likely not for long. The Butler Bulldogs will welcome the Providence Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Having struggled with five defeats in a row dating back to last season, Butler turned things around against Garinger on Tuesday. They put the hurt on the Wildcats with a sharp 18-3 win. With that victory, the Bulldogs brought their scoring average up to 6.5 runs per game.
Ashlynne Forrest and Parker Lamb were a major factor no matter where they played. On the mound, Forrest struck out six batters over two innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit (and only one walk). Meanwhile, Lamb tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the most strikeouts Forrest has posted since back in April of 2024. At the plate, Forrest scored a run while going 1-for-1, while Lamb went a perfect 1-for-1 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Forrest also put up an RBI, which was her first of the season.
Malea Williams
| 03/04/25 vs Garinger | 3 |
| 02/26/25 @ South Mecklenburg | 2 |
| 04/20/24 vs South Mecklenburg | 2 |
| 04/09/24 vs Providence | 2 |
| 03/04/24 @ Sun Valley | 2 |
In other batting news, Butler got a massive performance out of Malea Williams, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one triple, and one RBI. Those three runs gave Williams a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Alyssa Rubidoux, who went 1-for-2 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple.
Butler hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Providence duked it out with Charlotte Catholic on Tuesday. Everything went Providence's way against Charlotte Catholic as Providence made off with a 17-1 win. The matchup marked the Panthers' most dominant victory of the season so far.
Sophie Strugar made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Camryn O'Connor was a standout: she went 2-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Olivia Wakem was another key player, going 2-for-3 with four RBI, one run, and one double.
Providence pushed their record up to 4-1 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Butler, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-3.
Butler was able to grind out a solid win over Providence in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, winning 17-14. Does Butler have another victory up their sleeve, or will Providence turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
