Baseball Closes Out Regular Season with Doubleheader Sweep of Pratt

EL DORADO, Kan. – The Butler Grizzlies reached the 30-win mark and clinched a third-place finish in the KJCCC West Standings, while earning the No. 6 overall seed in the upcoming Region 6 Tournament.

The Grizzlies (30-24, 18-15 KJCCC) defeated the Pratt Beavers (14-38, 6-26) to close out the regular season, earning the No. 6 overall seed for the upcoming Region 6 Tournament. The Grizzlies 30 wins under first year head coach Seth Wheeler are the most wins for the Grizzlies since 2024. 

Game 1 (8 inn.) – Butler 9, Pratt 8

Game one of Saturday's doubleheader saw it go into extra innings. After two quiet innings, Pratt exploded in the third, launching two home runs in the frame. Gunner Hewitt opened the scoring with a two‑run shot, and Ronald Woods followed with a two‑run homer of his own to put the Beavers up 4-0. 

The Grizzlies responded with a four‑run third inning of their own. Yusei Uzawa drove in a run on a fielder's choice and Tanay Vyas added a sacrifice fly. Danny Wideman tied the game with a two‑run homer, scoring Uzawa to even the game back up at four apiece.

Pratt regained the lead in the fourth on Brady Boomsma's two‑run homer, making it 6–4.

But the Grizzlies answered again. Amarion Sailer doubled home a run, and Brady Todd followed with an RBI single to tie it 6–6.

In the fifth, Jackson Ellison's sacrifice fly gave Butler its first lead, 7–6.

Pratt tied it in the sixth on an Owen Schmidt RBI double, then took an 8–7 lead in the seventh on Woods' second homer of the day.

In the bottom of the seventh, Ellison homered to right to tie the game 8–8, sending the contest to an eighth inning.

In the eighth, Kaden Gomez‑Gordon delivered the game‑winning RBI single, scoring Danny Wideman to give the Grizzlies the 9–8 win.

Game 2 (5 inn.) – Butler 17, Pratt 7

Butler overpowered Pratt 17–7 in a run‑rule victory, using a relentless offensive surge across the first five innings to secure the sweep.

Pratt briefly held momentum with a four‑run third inning, highlighted by RBI doubles from Ronald Woods and Nate Lodewyks and a two‑run homer earlier from Ethan Perry. But the Grizzlies answered every punch — and then some.

Kaleb Nye delivered a career day, going 3-for-3 with two home runs and six RBI, including a two‑run shot in the third and another in the fourth. Kaden Gomez‑Gordon added a two‑run homer of his own, while Jackson Ellison tripled in a run as part of Butler's seven‑run fifth inning that blew the game open.

Logan Hicks chipped in with a pair of RBI singles, and Blake Rogers capped the scoring with a three‑run double to center.

On the mound, Luke Schmitt earned the win in relief, steadying the game after a chaotic early stretch.

Next up: The Grizzlies secured the No. 6 seed in the Region 6 Tournament and will host the No. 11 seeded Neosho County Panthers in a best of three series, with game on starting at noon on Thursday. 

You can view the Region 6 Tournament bracket here: Bracket