Butler Baseball Completes Series Sweep over Garden City
The Butler Grizzlies took the series with the Garden City Broncbusters as they won two games on Saturday at McDonald Stadium. The Grizzlies won the first game 10-9 in extra innings and cemented the four game sweep over the Broncbusters in game two, with an 11-6 victory.
Story by Kalon Fullerton
The Butler Grizzlies took the series with the Garden City Broncbusters as they won two games on Saturday at McDonald Stadium. The Grizzlies won the first game 10-9 in extra innings and cemented the four game sweep over the Broncbusters in game two, with an 11-6 victory.
Game One
The Grizzlies used a three run first inning to take the early lead and added to it with two runs in the fifth. Garden City tied it at seven in the sixth and both teams scored in the seventh to force extra innings. After Garden City took the lead in the top half of the seventh, the Grizzlies scored two to walk it off, sealing the victory with an Alan Bernhardt walk off RBI single.
Brock Toothaker knocked in a home run, and Benhardt and Justin Hudson led the team with two RBIs each, as the Grizzlies combined for 10 runs on 15 hits.
Tate Rico earned the win in extras after four different Grizzly pitchers made appearances. William Humphrey earned the start and pitched four innings, striking out two.
Game Two
The Grizzly offense again delivered in game two. Butler turned around a 2-1 first inning Garden City lead with a three run second before blowing the game open with a four run fourth inning led by Toothaker's second home run of the day. Butler tacked on two more in the fifth before adding one run in the sixth.
Toothaker earned his fifth home run of the year, and multiple Grizzlies earned multi-RBI games. Butler was led by Micah Kobuszewski who earned three RBIs and Brock Kuehler and Cole Murrel who had two each, as the Grizzlies scored 10 runs or more for the fifth straight ballgame, finishing the day with 11 runs on 10 hits.
Tyler Leachner pitched four innings in relief and earned himself the win, his second of the year, Leachner allowed just one run in the contest and three hits, striking out two.
The Grizzlies improve to 23-14 and 10-6 on the year in conference play after their first four game sweep of the season. Next up for Butler will be a nonconference contest at home against the Cowley Tigers before a conference doubleheader against the Barton Cougars, also at McDonald Stadium.