SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. -- Sophomore Kristin Gutierrez turned in her second strong outing of the weekend and Butler rebounded from a tough opening-game setback to defeat host Seton Hall, 4-1, in the final game of a three-game BIG EAST series on Sunday, April 27.  The Pirates came from behind to capture the opener at Mike Sheppard, Sr., Field, 7-6 in ten innings.

Gutierrez, who pitched Butler to a 9-1 victory in the series' opener on Saturday, was in control from the start in the final game.  She blanked the Pirates on one hit through the first six innings, before surrendering a single run on three hits in the final frame.  The Butler lefthander had five strikeouts and one walk, while picking up her sixth BIG EAST win and improving to 14-10 overall.

The Bulldogs jumped in front in the second inning on a two-run double by Krista Hakola.  The drive to center field plated Kristen Boros, who had walked, and Cassie Rupel, who had reached on an error.

Butler (23-25, 9-8 BIG EAST) added a single run in the fourth inning on a leadoff double by Chelsea Norwood, a sacrifice bunt by Hakola and a run-scoring single by Riley Carter.  Freshman Brandyce Sallee doubled with one out in the seventh and scored the Bulldogs' final run on a single by sophomore Alex Kotter.

Seton Hall (15-31, 9-9 BIG EAST) rallied from a 4-1 deficit to capture the opening game in extra innings.  The Pirates scored three runs on two hits and two Butler errors in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 4-4.

That's where the score remained until the top of the tenth inning when the Bulldogs scored a pair of runs.  Hakola singled to drive in Boros with the first run, and then she scored the second on a double by Rupel.

But the Pirates answered with back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the tenth to capture the win.  Lauren Fischer tied the game with a two-run home run to right field and Faith Laudano ended the contest with a walk-off home run to right-center field.

Hakola had three hits to lead Butler's attack in the opener.  She finished the weekend with six hits in eight official trips to the plate, including a double, a home run and five runs batted in.

Butler will close out the regular season schedule with a five-game homestand, beginning with a non-conference doubleheader against Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday, April 29.  The first game of that twinbill at the Butler Softball Field will start at 2 p.m.