ROSEMONT, ILL. -- Butler wrapped up three days at the Total Control Sports Invitational with a convincing 8-0 victory over Samford in six innings on Sunday (Feb. 8).  The win was Butler's second straight at the indoor tournament and lifted the Bulldogs to 2-2 on the young season.

Seniors Kristen Boros and Cassie Rupel fueled Butler's offense, which produced seven runs in the first three innings.  Boros had two hits in three trips to the plate and drove iun a pair of runs, while Rupel knocked in a pair of runs with a double.  Each also scored a run in the win.

Junior left-hander Kristin Gutierrez pitched all six innings for the Bulldogs and picked up her first shutout of the 2015 campaign.  She allowed six hits in the run-shortened stint and recorded five strikeouts with one walk, while handing Samford (4-1) its first setback in the tournament.

Butler bolted to a 2-0 lead in the first inning.  Sophomore Brandyce Sallee, who had a single to start the rally, scored on a wild pitch, and Boros drove in the second with a single.

The Bulldogs then broke the game open with five runs in the bottom of the third frame.  The two-run double by Rupel was the big hit of the inning, while Boros, Riley Carter and Sarah Gronowski picked up RBI's in the frame.

Sophomore Chelsea Norwood drove in the final Butler run with no outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game on the "eight-run" rule.

Junior Alex Kotter, who had nine hits in Butler's first three games in the tournament, walked four times against Samford.

Butler will play its first outdoor games of the 2015 campaign at the South Alabama Invitational, Feb. 13-15. The Bulldogs will begin play in that tournament in Mobile, Ala., against Evansville on Friday, Feb. 13.