Butler Baseball Has Six Players Named to All-KJCCC West Teams; Tiger Crowned Pitcher of the Year
Story by Wyatt Ebersole
EL DORADO, Kan -- After a year that saw the Butler Baseball team finish as KJCCC West Runner-Ups and earn 35+ wins for the fifth straight year, the Grizzlies had six different players named to All-KJCCC West teams when the conference awards were announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Izack Tiger was the lone Grizzly to garner First-Team All-KJCCC West honors. Justin Hudson and Caden Kickhaefer received second-team honors, while Hayden Dyer, Josh Holmes, and Brock Lummus were named to the honorable mention team. This is the Grizzlies fifth consecutive season with at least five All-KJCCC West selections.
In addition to his first-team selection, Izack Tiger was named the KJCCC West Pitcher of the Year after a year that saw him finish with a 10-5 record, an ERA of 3.93, throw 84.2 innings, and strikeout a conference leading 121 batters. His 12.86 K/9 also led the conference and ranked 29th nationally. Tiger's best game of the season came in the post season, when he threw a complete nine-inning game, allowing just two runs on six hits while striking out 15 batters in the Grizzlies 3-2 second round playoff win over Fort Scott on May 17th. Tiger is the Butler Baseball program leader for strikeouts in a career, finishing with 243 strikeouts in Grizzly purple and gold.
Caden Kickhaefer, the Grizzlies redshirt freshman pitcher from Salina, Kansas, was named to the All-KJCCC West Second team. Kickhaefer finished fifth in ERA among all pitchers in the KJCCC, and first among KJCCC West arms. Kick also finished with an excellent 10-1 record and went 5-0 across his final seven starts. His best game of the year came on May 3rd when he through a complete game, five hit shutout on the road against Pratt in a 4-0 Grizzly win.
Justin Hudson, the Grizzlies redshirt freshman first baseman from Black Forest, Colorado, had an excellent year for the Grizzlies. Hudson finished as the team leader in home runs with 16 and doubles with 18. He was second on the team in RBIs with 55 and walks drawn with 34. His best performance of the year came on May 6th against Pratt, when went 2-2 with two home runs, three RBIs, and drew three walks.
Hayden Dyer, the Grizzlies sophomore shortstop from Gardner, Kansas, was a huge piece to the Grizzlies success this year, even with missing ten games. He was the team leader in hits with 72 and RBIs with 66 and he had the highest batting average on the team at .389. He was second on the team in both doubles (15) and runs scored (49). Dyer had some sensational games at the plate, but his of the year came in game three of the Grizzlies playoff series against Allen County. He finished 3-4 at the dish, hitting two home runs, and recorded seven RBIs.
Josh Holmes, the Grizzlies sophomore centerfield from Lenexa, Kansas, was fantastic for the Grizzlies this year. Despite missing the final 20 games of the year to injury, Holmes still excelled for the Grizzlies, finishing as the team leader in runs scored with 50. He also led the team in stolen bases with 14. His best game of the year was one of his last. On April 13th against Barton, Holmes went a perfect 4-4 at the plate with four singles and coming around to score all four times in the Grizzlies upset 8-3 win over the highly ranked Cougars.
Brock Lummus, the Grizzlies redshirt sophomore catcher from Hays, Kansas, had a great year for the Grizzlies. Lummus was one of only three Grizzlies to play in 55+ games this season. He had the second highest batting average on the team at .355. He was second on the team in hits with 60, he was tied for third in runs scored with 48 and was third in RBIs with 44. His best game of the season came in the postseason, when he went 2-4 with a triple and four RBIs in the Grizzlies 10-12 loss against #2 Johnson County on May 18th.
These Grizzlies led the way for the Butler Baseball team to an overall record of 39-22, three postseason victories, and a KJCCC West Runner-Up finish.