Region VI First Round Preview: Butler vs Allen County

Region VI First Round

14-seed Allen County vs 3-seed Butler

May 10th-12th

Game One: 4:00 PM, May 10th

Game Two: 4:00 PM, May 11th

Game Three: 1:00 PM, May 12th (If needed)

Location: McDonald Stadium, El Dorado, KS

Watch Live: butlergrizzlies.com/watchlive

Massey Ratings Series Prediction: Butler wins 2-0 (Game One: Butler 10-2, Game Two: Butler 7-5)

Massey Ratings Chance to Win Series: Butler 77%, Allen 23%

OPENING NOTES

• The 3rd seeded Butler Grizzlies and the 14-seeded Allen County Red Devils will clash in the first round of the Region VI Playoffs
• The series is best of three, with game one playing out on Wednesday, game two on Thursday, and an if-needed game three on Friday
• Butler clinched a second-place finish in the Jayhawk West by taking three of four from Pratt in their final conference series of the year
• Butler has a Massey Ratings RPI ranking of 57th in NJCAA DI Baseball
  • This the fourth highest RPI in the Jayhawk Conference, ahead of Cloud County who is 59th and behind Cowley who is 38th
• Butler Baseball has won at least 35 games in five straight seasons
• The Grizzlies have won eight of their last ten games
• The Grizzlies have advanced past the first round in the playoffs for four straight years
• Neither team appeared in the NJCAA Rankings all season
• Butler is 32-13 against unranked opponents this year
• Butler's strength of schedule (SOS) is ranked 106th by Massey Ratings, Allen's SOS is 86th
• Against common opponents, Butler is 13-5 and Allen is 9-16. Those teams being Cowley, Neosho, Coffeyville, Highland, Pratt, and KCK

Last action for the Grizzlies 

Saturday, May 8th | Regular Season Finale | Pratt 14, Butler 11

• The Butler Baseball fell in a shootout in their regular season finale to the Pratt Beavers 14-11
• The Grizzlies climbed back in the game from down 3-10 to take an 11-10 lead in the seventh, but the Beavers found four runs across the final two innings to take the game
• Hayden Dyer was 3-5 in the game and 6-9 across the Saturday doubleheader. In the twin bill, he recorded two doubles, eight RBIs, and three home runs including a grand slam
• In the finale game, Justin Hudson was 2-2 with two home runs, three walks drawn, and three RBIs
• Despite the finale loss, the Grizzlies won three games and clinched a second-place finish in the Jayhawk West, beating out Cloud County by 1.5 games
• Six different Grizzlies took the mound in game two, the most the Grizzlies have had in a game since April 13th in game two vs Barton
• The Grizzlies ended the Regular season 36-20 overall and 21-11 in conference play

THE OPPONENT

• The 14th seed overall and KJCCC East seventh place finisher Allen County Red Devils comes from just an hour west of El Dorado in Iola, Kansas
• The Red Devils finished with a record 24-27 overall and 13-19 in Jayhawk East play
• Allen is just 2-8 across their last ten games 
• This season was the Red Devils first year ending the regular season with a losing record since 2014-15 season when they ended the regular season 14-31 
• Allen ended the regular season losing their season series finale to KCK 1-3
• Allen County has a Massey Ratings RPI ranking of 136th, down one spot from last week
  • For comparison, to teams in the conference, Labette is ranked 147th and Pratt is 131st
• The Red Devils are 7-13 on the road this season
• Allen only has two players batting over 0.300 this season. Those players are Braden Hendrix and Blake Venneman
• Allen is dead last in the KJCCC in home runs this year with 21
• The Red Devils have the 150th ranked offense in NJCAA Division I
• The ace of the Red Devil rotation is John James. He leads the team in wins with 7, innings pitched with 68.1, strikeouts with 67, and ERA with 2.63

RECENT WINNING

• The Grizzlies have won 12 of their last 14 games and have held opponents to four or fewer runs in ten of those games
• In their last eight first round playoff series, the Grizzlies have won four

STRANGER DANGER

• The Grizzlies and Red Devils have not met since the 2016 season when the team played a four-game series. The teams split the series 2-2 with both teams winning at home and losing on the road
  • This is the only meeting between these two teams since 2012

JUST KICKEN' IT

• Starter Caden Kickhaefer leads the KJCCC with an ERA of 2.50 this season
• Kickhaefer is third in innings pitched in the KJCCC with 72
• Kick is also tied for the fewest home runs allowed among pitchers in the Jayhawk Conference with four

HUDDY HOMERS

• Justin Hudson leads the Grizzlies in home runs this season with 15 and he's hit four homers over his last ten games played

IN DYER NEED

• After missing nine games last month due to injury, Hayden Dyer has returned to the lineup and had a big impact on the Grizzly batting order. Since his return, he's batting 0.371, with 13 RBIs, and he's hit four home runs, while drawing eight walks

TIGER KING

• Grizzly ace Izack Tiger is the all-time program leader for strikeouts in a career with 223. He has a career K/9 of 11.32 and a K/9 this year of 12.99 which ranks 14th in the NJCAA and is the second highest mark in the Jayhawk Conference

OTHER KJCCC FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS:

#16 Labette at #1 Barton 

#9 Dodge City at #8 Kansas City Kansas

#12 Coffeyville at #5 Cloud

#13 Pratt at #4 Cowley

#11 Hutchinson at #6 Fort Scott

#10 Neosho County at #7 Seward

#15 Colby at #2 Johnson County

TEAM STAT LEADERS AS OF 5/9:

HITTING

Batting Average: Hayden Dyer: 0.379

RBIs: Hayden Dyer: 56

Hits: Hayden Dyer: 64

Runs Scored: Josh Holmes: 47

Doubles: Justin Hudson: 18

Triples: Five players tied: 1

Home Runs: Justin Hudson: 15

Walks Drawn: Brock Kuehler: 28

PITCHING

Innings Pitched: Caden Kickhaefer: 72 

Wins: Tied: Caden Kickhaefer and Izack Tiger: 9

Saves: Blake Werry: 7

Strikeouts: Izack Tiger: 101

ERA: Caden Kickhaefer: 2.50

Fewest BBs Issued (Min 40 IP): Caden Kickhaefer: 19

Complete Games: Izack Tiger: 5

LOOKING AHEAD

If the Grizzlies win the series, they will advance to the Region VI Championship at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kansas, May 17th-21st.