Ryan Paris
Student Sports Media
After their victories against Seward County on Monday, April 24, the Butler softball team ended their season with a perfect 48-0 record, to conclude a truly amazing season to say the least.
The Grizzlies received contributions from not only all their starters, but even got some good production from the girls on the bench as well, when they were called upon.
It was something that needed to be done for them to have this kind of a successful season, and they came up big when the team needed it most.
Sophomore Regan Mergele was the “anchor” of the pitching staff, as she collected 23 wins on the season. Along with her plethora of pitching wins, she also possessed a 0.48 ERA, along with 158 strikeouts in 102.1 innings pitched. She only gave up seven earned runs all year long.
The Butler offense was certainly a juggernaut, as they batted with a double-take worthy .419 team batting average, as well as 101 team home runs, and 535 runs, an all-time record. Sophomore Becca Schulte was one of the important players on the offensive side of the game, as she hit 19 home runs along with 83 runs batted in, and she hit .430 on the season. However, there was someone else who particularly caught the eye of Head Coach Doug Chance, sophomore Brynn Minor. Chance had high praise for Minor, stating that “her power numbers are way higher than last year”, which is very evident. Minor hit 23 home runs while driving in 76, and also hitting for a .483 batting average. That batting average signifies that she reached base via hit almost half of her plate appearances. She had an even more impressive .534, showing that she reached base safely more than half of the time.
There have been some close calls to their undefeated season almost ending, and there was yet another one on Monday, April 24, as the Butler offense was getting shut down by the Seward County pitching. They, however, received another amazing performance from Mergele on the mound, which led them to the 2-0 victory.
The second game was played a lot more loosely, with the final score 14-2.
The Butler offense showed what kind of offense they are for the last time in the regular season, with the team hitting four total home runs en route to the victory.
They will look to continue their magical season in the first game of the Region VI tournament. That game is scheduled to be played Friday, May 5.
