VILLANOVA, Pa.—After playing the first 20 games of the season away from home over the first four weeks of the season, Villanova (8-12, 0-0 BIG EAST) will make its return to the friendly confines of the newly renovated Villanova Softball Complex this weekend to host a three-game series against Butler (12-7, 0-0 BIG EAST) this weekend. The series opens with a doubleheader on Friday starting at 1 p.m.
 
Since the end of last season there have been extensive upgrades made to the Villanova Softball Complex, beginning with artificial turf installed in the outfield along with a new infield playing surface. Outfield wall padding and additional amenities to expand the gameday experience for the Wildcats student-athletes, visiting teams and fans complete what will be a brand new look for the facility which originally opened during the 2007 season. Villanova is 133-107-1 (.554) all-time at its home field.
 
The start of conference play also marks the official beginning of the Wildcats defense of their first-ever BIG EAST title from a year ago. Villanova went 37-15 last season and won four straight games during the conference tournament to capture the BIG EAST crown and advance to an NCAA regional for the first time in program history. With nearly the entire team returning from last season, the Wildcats were picked as the preseason favorites to finish atop the conference standings again this year.
 
Villanova opens conference play against a Bulldogs team which has surprisingly not played a game on the Main Line in six years. A scheduled three-game series between the teams at the Villanova Softball Complex in 2018 was rained out, while the 2020 conference schedule was canceled. Last season the Wildcats were 4-0 against Butler, including a three-game sweep in Indianapolis to open conference play and a 14-5 win over the Bulldogs during the BIG EAST Championship. Villanova leads the all-time series against Butler by a 9-7 margin, including a 3-2 mark in home games during the series.
 
This is the first season that the BIG EAST schedule will feature a three-game series played over three days (Friday-Sunday) rather than a scheduled doubleheader and a single game over two days. This weekend's schedule was adjusted due to inclement weather in the forecast on Saturday however, leading to Friday's doubleheader which will give the teams two days to try and get in the final game of the series. Each game played this weekend will be streamed on Nova Nation All-Access and can be seen on FloSports. Fans can sign up for a FloSports subscription and unlock a discount just for BIG EAST fans by clicking here.