Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Butler continued its hot start to the season with a pair of victories to kick off The Spring Games in Madeira Beach, Fla. The Bulldogs held on for a 5-4 win over Central Arkansas before knocking off Nicholls State, 2-1, in eight innings.

With the results, Butler is now 6-1 on the season.

The Bulldogs maximized six hits and one walk, turning those into five runs.

Butler got on the board first, pushing two runs across in the top of the first inning. Maddie Moore's squeeze bunt and Karli Ricketts' sacrifice fly accounted for the RBIs.

That 2-0 score held up until the fifth when freshman Loren Simpson doubled down the right-field line to score a pair of Bulldogs.

After Central Arkansas pulled within 4-2 in the sixth, the Bulldogs scored an important insurance run in the top of the seventh as Bri Avery's single through the left side scored Alyssa Garcia. That would be important as UCA did manage two runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Ricketts improved to 3-0 on the season, going 6.1 innings and striking out 13 along the way. UCA's four runs came on a pair of two-run home runs, one in the sixth and one in the seventh inning. Alyssa Graves came on in relief in the seventh and got the final two outs for her first save of the season.

It was a successful squeeze play in the bottom of the eighth inning that gave Butler the win over Nicholls State in the second game of the day.

The Bulldogs continue play in Florida Saturday, with match-ups against Georgia State and Middle Tennessee.