Bryce Hirayama
Student Sports Media
The Butler baseball season is underway, and the team is on fire. The team currently has a record of 8-1 with their only loss coming from Redland’s Oklahoma Community College in a 3-2 contest on February 15. The Grizzlies added to their impressive resume so far this season in a sweep against Des Moines Area Community College.
The first game in the series, on Friday, Feb. 21 saw the Grizzlies break a school record for runs in a game as the team scored 30 runs after being down 8-0 in the bottom of the 1st inning. The Grizzlies, in the next three innings, scored 19 runs on their way to a 30-13 victory.
“I’ve never been a part of a game with that much offense ever,” freshman outfielder RJ Lara said. “It was crazy to watch. After that first inning, I think everyone in the dugout knew that it was going to take just one run at a time to come back, and so when we answered back with five in the first, we knew we were back in the ballgame.”
The leading hitter for the Grizzlies was freshman outfielder Jackson Syring who went 4-4 with 3 RBIs as well as two walks. The pitching was a combined effort between pitchers Dillan Janak, Garrett DeHaas and John Short. The three combined for 20 hits, 13 runs, three walks and six strikeouts.
Then, in the first game of a double header on Saturday, Feb. 22, the Grizzlies won a closer game by a score of 5-2. The leading hitter was freshman first baseman Brandon Ryan who went 2 for 3 on the day with a solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd inning. The winning pitcher for the Grizzlies was freshman Nate Adler who threw four innings and allowed six hits and two earned runs. He also had four strikeouts and two walks.
However, the best performance that Saturday was when freshman pitcher Izack Tiger threw a no hitter to finish off the sweep. Tiger finished the game with four strikeouts and one walk to compliment his no hitter. The leading hitter for the Grizzlies was Lara. He went 2 for 2 on the day with two RBIs and a home run in the bottom of the 4th inning.
“I think especially after this weekend we have all bought into the team mentality, and trust in ourselves a little more, especially when it comes to working together to get what needs to be done to win a game,” Lara said.
The next games for the Grizzlies took place at a neutral site at Bettis Sport Complex in Topeka against Highland on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 1 and 3 p.m. Then, the Grizzlies returned home on Saturday, Feb. 29 to take on Highland once again at 1 and 3 p.m.
