Butler ends regular season with home victory over Brown Mackie

Butler ends regular season with home victory over Brown Mackie

The Butler baseball team closed out the regular season with a 10-0 victory over Brown Mackie College in an eight-inning contest on Tuesday at McDonald Stadium.

Butler (24-19 overall, 18-14 Jayhawk West) received a strong pitching performance from freshman T.J. Segebart, who made quick work by throwing just 76 pitches in seven innings of work. Segebart (2-0) allowed just four hits, striking out two and walking one batter as he picked up his second win of the season.

While Segebart was keeping the Lions off the board, the Butler offense had a steady flow throughout the game as they scored in six of the eight innings.

Micheal Cerullo, who went 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in two runs, put the Grizzlies on the board in the first inning with an RBI single through the right side of the infield to score Jordan Knox. With Tory Bell on third, Cerullo stole second and Bell slid safely into home on the throw to give Butler a 2-0 lead.

In the third, Levi Parker and Dalton Wheat both reached base by getting hit on the first pitch from Brown Mackie's Omar Almodover. Parker would advance to third when Wheat was picked off first base. Two batters later, Parker came home by scoring on a fielder's choice.

Butler added two more runs in the fifth when Gus Strunk's double to right-center scored Trever Ezell. Strunk would eventually score when Lions pitcher Christian Newell was called for a balk.

Leading 7-0 in the eighth inning, Butler would end the game by run-rule with three runs. Gabe Cook scored the first run on a fielder's choice. With the bases loaded, Brandon Young was hit with a pitch to score Logan Beard. Pinch hitter Derek Ziegenhirt ended the game with an RBI single to score Michael Bird.

Next action for the Grizzlies will be a road best-of-three series at Kansas City Kansas (31-20 overall) in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament. The first game will be played on Saturday at noon, with Game 2 to follow. If a third game is necessary, it will be played at noon on Sunday.