Ryan Paris
Students Sports Media
Butler softball was able to remain undefeated, and in a big way as well, as they combined to score 38 runs in a double-header against Garden City on Wednesday, March 15, in El Dorado.
They started the first game in almost impossible fashion, as they scored 13 runs before Garden City was able to record an out. It all started with a Kenzie Young RBI triple, to put the Grizzlies out on top. Young eventually scored on a double by Becca Schulte. Allison Jurgensen then had an RBI single, to bring the score to 4-0, before Alexis Reed hit a three-run home run to left-center to bring the score to 7-0. Butler’s offense continued to tee off, as the lead kept growing. Schulte hit a home run of her own later on in the inning, which brought the lead to 12-0. Caylie Kifer, Brynn Minor and Young also hit home runs in the game, as eventually Butler had to put in substitutions in the game. Chloe Holman and Celina Sullivan saw some playing time due to the scoring outburst. After the early scoring outburst, Butler’s Regan Mergele was able to cruise to the win on the mound, bringing her record to 13-0. The final score of that game was 26-2.
Instead of scoring lots of runs early on, Butler’s offense gradually scored more and more of them each inning. The Grizzlies were actually kept quiet in the first inning, but they struck in the second inning for three runs to put them out on top. Jurgensen, Young, and Minor all had RBI singles. The big inning for the Grizzlies was the fourth inning, as they scored nine runs on seven hits that inning to bring the score to 12-0. Young hit a three-run home run in the inning, and Schulte followed up with a solo home run of her own. Beanie Luttig had a two-run double, which extended the lead even further. The final score was 12-0, and the pitching win went to Minor, in just her second career start for Butler on the mound. Her record is now 5-0 on the season.
Head Coach Doug Chance feels like Minor has really stepped up the most as of late.
“Her power numbers are way up from last year,” Chance said. “She’s batting for a really good average and driving in a lot of runs.”
“They’re getting better and better and getting locked in on their approach,” Chance said. “From our scouting, I felt like we hit pretty well against their pitching.”
Butler’s games on Monday, March 27, were cancelled due to the muddy conditions on the field.