Notre Dame limited the visiting Bulldogs to two hits behind a strong outing from Allie Rhodes, posting a 5-0 win over Butler Thursday night at Melissa Cook Stadium in South Bend, Ind. Notre Dame, ranked No. 19 and No. 20 respectively in this week's national polls, now stands at 29-6. Butler falls to 22-16 on the season.

Kristin Gutierrez was the hard-luck loser, falling to 9-8 on the season. The left-hander retired the first six Fighting Irish batters, striking out three. In the third, Notre Dame pushed across a pair of unearned runs. Maddie McCracken was hit by a pitch to start the inning. A pair of fielding errors scored her with one out. A diving catch by shortstop Cheyenne Thompson behind the third base bag resulted in another Notre Dame run as Carly Piccinich smartly tagged up from third on the unconventional sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, Notre Dame loaded the bases with none out off Mikeila Boroff, who had relieved Gutierrez to start the frame. After a force-out at home, pinch hitter Kimmy Sullivan singled up the middle to score two. Karley Wester's infield single pushed one more across for a 5-0 lead.

Rhodes got the start for Notre Dame, striking out 12 in five innings of work. She allowed two hits and improved to 13-4 on the season.

Maggie MacBeth and Chelsea Norwood had singles for Butler. Brandyce Sallee walked three times for the Bulldogs. Kacey Starwalt pitched a scoreless inning for the visitors.

Butler returns to action with a BIG EAST weekend series at DePaul. A doubleheader is scheduled for Saturday followed by a single game Sunday. Live stats are available for each contest, while the Blue Demons offer a video feed. The feed does require a paid subscription. Links are available on the ButlerSports.com site.