GARDEN CITY, Kan. - Butler softball extended its winning streak to 22 games with a doubleheader sweep of Garden City on Thursday afternoon.
Currently ranked sixth in the NJCAA Division I poll, Butler (37-4 overall, 17-1 conference) won by run-rule in both contests over Garden City. The Grizzlies won the opener 9-1 in six innings, then shutout the Busters 8-0 in the second game.
Butler now leads the Jayhawk West by three games over Barton and Colby, while Garden City (8-36, 0-22) remained winless in conference play.
Butler will host Seward County (24-26, 7-11) on Saturday in a Jayhawk Conference doubleheader. First pitch from East Park is at 2:00 p.m.
Butler 9, Garden City 1 - Game 1
The Grizzlies grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Danae Bina scored on a wild pitch.
Solo home runs by Tyesha Morgan and Megan Wurts in the fifth inning pushed Butler's lead to 3-0.
After Garden City scored in the bottom of the fifth, Butler exploded for six runs in the sixth. Morgan Bohanan provided the big hit in the inning, hitting a three-run double to put the Grizzlies up 7-1.
Bohanan, Morgan and Becca Schulte each had two hits for Butler.
Regan Mergele (18-3) won her 10th straight game in as many starts for the Grizzlies. Mergele allowed one unearned run and seven hits in five innings.
Butler 8, Garden City 0 - Game 2
Butler's first run came in the fourth inning when Brynn Minor scored on a Raven Bass RBI single. Pinch runner Drea Lesure would later score on a passed ball to give the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead.
In the fifth, Morgan Bohanan and Becca Schulte hit RBI singles to put Butler up 4-0. A bases-loaded walk to Raven Bass brought in another run, then Minor and Danae Bina scored on passed balls. Tyesha Morgan's RBI single to score Bass finished the scoring for the Grizzlies.
Minor had a 3-for-3 performance at the plate and scored two runs, while Bohanan went 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
In the two games, Bohanan went 4-for-6 in the two games and pushed her batting average to a team-high .505 clip, which ranks her in the top 20 among NJCAA Division I hitters.
Jennifer Hittinger (15-1) earned the victory as she allowed just two hits in 4.1 innings of work.
