COLBY, Kan. - Butler softball maintained its first-place lead in the Jayhawk West conference standings Tuesday with a road sweep at Colby.
Butler (35-4 overall, 15-1 conference) shut out the Trojans 7-0 in the opening contest, then defeated Colby 6-2 in the nightcap.
With the two wins, Butler holds a two-game lead in the standings over Barton (13-3) and Colby (15-5). The Grizzlies travel to Garden City on Thursday for a Jayhawk Conference doubleheader, beginning at 2 p.m.
Butler 7, Colby 0 - Game 1
Brynn Minor put Butler up 2-0 with a two-run single to score Megan Wurts and Morgan Bohanan in the first inning.
Wurts then extended the Grizzlies' lead by three runs with a solo home run in the second inning.
In the third inning, Butler added two more runs on a wild pitch with the bases loaded, then pick up insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
Minor went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three stolen bases for Butler, while Megan Wurts was 1-for-2 with three runs scored and two stolen bases.
Regan Mergele (17-3) earned the win, tossing five shutout innings while allowing just three hits and striking out five.
Butler 6, Colby 2 - Game 2
Butler pounded out 13 hits in the second contest and used a pair of three-run innings to beat the Trojans.
Trailing 1-0 in the second, Danae Bina started the scoring for Butler with a solo home run. The Grizzlies added two more runs in the inning, including an RBI single from Megan Wurts.
Colby narrowed the lead to 3-2 with a run in the second and the score remained unchanged until Butler added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh.
Morgan Bohanan hit an RBI double to score Drea Lesure, then Becca Schulte followed with a two-run home run. The blast was Schulte's 12th homer of the season, which leads the Grizzlies on the season.
Jennifer Hittinger improved to 16-1 overall on the season, giving up just one earned run on four hits in five innings of work. Brynn Minor came on for two innings in relief, allowing just one hit while striking out three.