ORLANDO, FLA. -- Butler ran into a pair of strong pitching performances and wound up dropping two games at the UCF Spring Fling Tournament on Saturday (March 14).  James Madison beat the Bulldogs, 1-0, in the first game, and #20 UCF stopped Butler in the second, 5-1.

The Bulldogs managed just four hits on the day.  In the opener, James Madison's Jailyn Ford was nearly perfect.  She retired the first 20 batters she faced, before Kristen Boros ripped a triple off her with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.  The Dukes' left-hander then retired the final batter she faced to pick up the win.

Ford finished the game with 14 strikeouts and no walks.  She also had a triple and scored the game's only run in the fourth inning.

Butler starter Kristin Gutierrez nearly matched the James Madison ace.  The Bulldogs' starter tossed a complete game, allowing just four hits and a single run.  She struck out one and walked none, while falling to 5-5 on the season.

The second game featured another pitching duel for five innings between Butler's Mikeila Boroff and UCF's Shelby Turnier.  Boroff held the No. 20-ranked Knights to two runs on eight hits through five innings, before surrendering three runs in the sixth frame.

Turnier blanked Butler for the first four innings, before Riley Carter unleashed a solo home run.  But that was the lone run the Bulldogs could muster against the Knights' starter.  Turnier allowed just three hits in the game and finished with seven strikeouts, while improving to 11-4 on the season.

Chelsea Norwood and Alyssa Lach joined Carter with hits in the game.

Butler (9-10) will conclude play in the UCF-hosted tournament with a single game against Fairfield on Sunday, March 15.