Butler got the 2016 campaign and the Plainsman Invite off to a strong start with a pair of victories Friday on the Auburn campus. Brandyce Sallee had five hits in six at-bats over the two games, driving in four runs while crossing the plate four times herself.

Butler opened with a 9-1 win over Furman, finishing the contest in six innings. After Furman tied the game at one in the top of the third, the Bulldogs used three hits to score four runs in the bottom of the inning. Kaitlin Doud's two-run triple highlighted the inning.

An RBI single by Sallee and an RBI double by Alyssa Lach sealed the decision in the bottom of the sixth.

Kristin Gutierrez (1-0) got the win for the Bulldogs, allowing six hits over the six innings while striking out four. The only run she allowed was unearned.

In the second game of the day, Butler found itself down 3-1 to Appalachian State after three innings before pushing across 11 runs over the last four innings for a 12-6 win. Maggie MacBeth tripled down the right field line to score Kosley Ogden, and then scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at three in the top of the fourth.

Sallee cleared the bases in the top of the fifth with a three-run double to left center. That gave the Bulldogs a 7-3 lead before five hits contributed to five runs in the top of the seventh. Lach, Cheyenne Thompson and Audrey Hiner had singles that combined to score four runs in the frame.

App State pushed across three in the bottom of the seventh for the final margin.

Kacey Starwalt (1-0) got the win in relief. She scattered three hits over two innings. Mikeila Boroff got the start and pitched three innings. Ambry Turpen pitched the sixth and seventh innings.

MacBeth scored four runs in the second game.

The Bulldogs return to action Saturday with a pair of games. At 11 a.m. (Eastern, 10 a.m. Auburn/Central), Butler faces off with Western Kentucky. That is followed by a 1:30 p.m. match-up with host Auburn. Live stats are available through Auburn's web site. The game with Auburn can be seen on SEC Network+, which is part of the Watch ESPN App (cable subscription information might be required).