Butler Softball completes regular season sweep of Seward with pair of wins on Wednesday

Story by Wyatt Ebersole 

Butler Softball collected their 22nd and 23rd wins of the year on Wednesday with a double-header sweep of Seward County, 7-2 in game one and 11-3 in game two. The wins improved the Grizzlies to 23-7 overall on the year and 14-2 in conference play. With the pair of losses, Seward drops to 12-22 overall and 7-11 in conference play. With the wins, Butler has won eight straight games, and Seward has lost their last six.

Game 1

The Saints got the scoring started in game one, hitting an RBI single in the top of the first to take the early 1-0 over the Grizzlies. The rest of the first inning was quiet, as was the second inning, but the Grizzlies jumped in front in the bottom of the third after posting two runs to go up 2-1 after three innings. After a scoreless fourth, Ryanna Valdivia and Briona Woods each hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to grow the Grizzly lead out to 5-1. After Ariel Matula shut down the Saints in the top of the sixth, Amayiah Hall and Cady Dickey each found another RBI single to make it 7-1 Grizzlies through six innings. The Saints would get one run back in the top of the seventh, but Matula managed to work out of jam, giving the Grizzlies the 7-2 victory in game one.

Allyson Montgomery earned the win, her 12th of the season. She went five innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits, and she struck out 11 Seward batters in the game. 

Game 2

In game two, Seward opened the scoring once again, hitting a solo home run to take another early 1-0 lead. Cady Dickey responded for the Grizzlies in the bottom half of the second inning with a two-run blast to center field to give the Grizzlies a 2-1 lead. Reece Briggs doubled the Grizzlies lead later in the inning with an RBI single to make it 3-1 Grizzlies through two innings. In the top of the third, Seward would hit another home run, this one a two-run blast to tie the game up at 3-3. The Grizzlies bounced back in their half of the third, thanks to a two-run blast of their own from Briggs, and then a follow-up two-RBI triple from Jakeyla McDaniel made it 7-3 Grizzlies after three innings. The Grizzlies offense kept moving in the fourth inning. Aly Hageman drove in two Grizzlies and McDaniel followed that up with two more RBIs that put the Grizzlies up 11-3 and just three outs away from a run-rule win. It wasn't a perfect half inning, but Lena Walter and Cheyenne Handsaker kept the Saints off the board in the fifth, preserving the 11-3, run-rule victory for the Grizzlies.

Emma Koeneke earned win #8 for herself on the year. She tossed four innings, allowing three runs on three hits, while striking out seven Lady Saints. 

Four Grizzlies recorded RBIs in the game, led by McDaniel who recorded four. 

Next action for the Grizzlies is on Saturday on the road at Pratt for a 1 and 3PM first-pitch.