Butler opened the Madeira Beach Invitational with a pair of Friday afternoon contests. The Bulldogs dropped a 9-1 decision to Delaware followed by a 5-0 loss to Murray State.

The Bulldogs are now 2-5 on the young season with three games remaining in Clearwater, Fla., this weekend.

Delaware scored five runs in the third inning and three more in the fourth inning to take control of the contest.

Butler's run came in the top of the fifth when Madi Christiansen led off the frame with a single to left field. Maddie Moore then doubled to right center to score pinch-runner Emma Morton.

Delaware ended the contest with a single run in the bottom of the sixth.

Moore had two of Butler's five hits. Three Butler errors led to four unearned runs by Delaware.

Murray State took the second game of the day by a score of 5-0 behind a strong performance in the circle from Hannah James. She struck out four and allowed only two hits in the complete-game shutout.

Alyssa Graves got the start for Butler and went 6.0 innings. She struck out seven.

Moore and Jenna Foreman had hits for the Bulldogs.

Murray State's runs came in the fourth (two) and sixth (three) innings.
 
The Bulldogs have a quick turnaround with two more games scheduled for Saturday morning. Butler will square off with George Mason at 9 a.m., followed by an 11:30 a.m. match-up with Holy Cross.