LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University softball team continues its first homestand of the season with a two-game midweek slate Wednesday, March 13 as the Knights host the Butler Bulldogs and Dartmouth Big Green at Knights Field.
 
The Knights (8-12) will take on Butler first, playing game one at 3 p.m. ET before facing off against Dartmouth at 5 p.m. ET.
 
Bellarmine enters the mid-week contests after playing its first games at home last weekend, going 2-2 in a long weekend of action against University of Evansville and St. Bonaventure University. The Knights were a powerhouse at the plate, scoring 38 runs across four games. Junior Kayla Bauer led the team in its first home weekend, hitting .600 (6-for-10) with a triple, six RBI, four runs and two stolen bases. Fellow juniors Serenity Shemwell (.455, 5-for-11), Harlie Bickett (.385, 5-for-13) and Chloe Collins (.385, 5-for-13) were also red-hot at the plate with Shemwell adding a double, home run, five RBI and four runs. Bickett added two RBI, five runs and a stolen base while Collins tallied two doubles, a home run, five RBI and three runs.
 
On the year, Collins leads the Knights at the plate, ranking first in hitting (.333), hits (20) and home runs (3) while ranking tied for first in RBI (11) and tied for second in doubles (4). New additions to this year's team freshman Brooke Shewmaker and junior transfer Serenity Shemwell have been great additions to the lineup as the pair is hitting .283 with Shewmaker going 15-for-53 and Shemwell going 13-for-46. Shewmaker adds a triple, six RBI, and a team-high 12 runs and six stolen bases while Shemwell adds a double, two home runs (second on the team), a team-high tying 11 RBI and eight runs. In the circle, junior Claire Lehmkuhler has been excellent for Bellarmine, making 13 appearances (10 starts) in the team's first 20 games. Lehmkuhler owns a 6-5 record with a 1.98 ERA and 1.23 WHIP, recording four complete games, one shutout, a save and 49 strikeouts in 60.0 innings of work.
 
As a team, Bellarmine is hitting .248 through its first 20 games, scoring 83 runs with 28 extra-base hits. In Saturday's 12-4 win over St. Bonaventure, the Knights tied their 2023 total season run production, overtaking the mark in their second game later that day. The win over the Bonnies, the team's eighth of the season, also marked a two-time improvement over the 2023 season win total with 29 games left on the schedule. In the circle, Bellarmine owns a 3.20 ERA with 81 strikeouts to 50 walks.
 
About the Bulldogs
 
Butler enters the midweek meeting at 12-11 on the season, 2-1 in Big East play after opening up their conference schedule this past weekend. The Bulldogs, dealing with inclement weather, topped Providence 6-5 and 5-1 in a Monday doubleheader before falling 9-7 on Tuesday afternoon. Butler will first take on Dartmouth in a neutral site matchup at Knights Field before their second bout of the year with the Knights at 3 p.m. Bellarmine and Butler first met earlier this season at The Spring Games where the Knights took home a 5-1 win. Overall, the two teams have met seven times with Butler owning a 4-2 advantage with one game resulting in a tie. The game on February 25 was the first meeting between the two schools since a doubleheader on April 2, 2008.  The Bulldogs have five players who are hitting over .300 so far this season, led by junior infielder Ella White who is hitting .431 with 28 hits, eight doubles, five home runs, 21 RBI, 19 runs and a stolen base. Redshirt junior Paige Dorsett is second on the team, hitting .394 with 28 hits, two doubles, one triple, three home runs, 11 RBI and seven runs. Redshirt freshman Hailey Conger rounds out the top three with a .391 average, 27 hits, four doubles, one triple, five RBI, 14 runs and two stolen bases. Senior Teagan O'Rilley ranks fourth on the team with a .321 average while sophomore Cate Lehner ranks fifth, hitting .300. On the rubber, freshman Katie Petran leads the Bulldogs, making 14 appearances (11 starts) on the year. Petran owns a 7-0 record with a 2.17 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 77.1 innings of work, recording seven complete games, two saves and 50 strikeouts to 17 walks. Petran's 77.1 innings pitched leads the Big East conference and ranks 10^th nationally. Behind the plate, sophomore catcher Kieli Ryan leads the Big East and ranks 12^th in the nation with seven caught stealing. As a team, Butler is batting .291 with 100 runs scored and 47 extra-base hits, including 21 home runs. In the circle, the Bulldogs have a 3.07 team ERA with 78 strikeouts and are allowing a .274 opponent batting average.
 
About the Big Green
 
Dartmouth enters the midweek contest with just four games under its belt, going 0-4 to start the season. The Big Green haven't played in the month of March yet and are coming off of back-to-back losses to ranked opponents, losing 6-0 to No. 21 Virginia Tech on February 24 and 8-1 to No. 3 Georgia on February 25. Dartmouth will face off against Butler Wednesday afternoon before taking on Bellarmine at 5 p.m. The meeting between the Knights and Big Green will be the first in program history. Although Dartmouth is 0-4 to start the year, the Big Green feature four hitters with an average over .300, led by sophomore infielder Ashley Frantz who is hitting .444 (4-for-9) with one run. Senior Kelly Beaupre ranks second on the team with a .417 average (5-for-12) adding two RBI. Freshman Olivia Schramm and junior Leila Hennessy round out the top four, hitting .364 (4-for-11) and .300 (3-for-10), respectively. In the circle, freshman Jensin Hall and junior Rachel McCarroll have split the pitching duties, playing in four games with two starts each. Hall leads the duo with a 5.50 ERA and 1.71 WHIP, adding 19 strikeouts in 14.0 innings of work. The Big Green are hitting .255 as a team with seven runs scored and four extra-base hits while owning a 6.19 team ERA, allowing a .318 opponent batting average.
 
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