Riding a 42-game winning streak, the Butler Grizzlies softball team (46-2, 26-0) is headed to the Region VI Tournament Championship game for the fifth consecutive year in a row and 12th straight Region VI game.
Butler had a nail biter in the matinee matchup with Garden City as they skated by with a 3-2 win after a gutty performance from starter Maddie Redman.
Redman pitched a season high 15 strikeouts in the contest giving up just four total hits in the game. The only runs scored came off a controversial two-run homerun that was hit in the top of the seventh that was right over the foul pole. Redman gave up no walks in her 23 batters faced in the game.
Butler struggled at the plate in game one but found a way to score late with RBI's from Madi Young, Shayna Espy and Anna Icenhower. The Grizzlies recorded just six hits in the game, one more hit than their season low while striking out seven times, just one off a season high for strikeouts. With Madi Young's score in the fifth, she becomes the first Grizzly in program history to score 100 runs in a season.
"We weren't great offensively against Garden City, but when your pitcher is doing what she did, we don't have to be great," said head coach Doug Chance.
Game two was a completely different story with Butler defeating the Hutchinson Blue Dragons in a 9-0 five-inning run-rule.
Butler scored fast and, in a hurry, plating four runs in the first and five in the second off of two homeruns from Hannah Knox. Ari Cordova also sent one over in the contest.
The Grizzlies were much better offensively in game two, but freshman pitcher Izzy Erickson was a rock inside the circle. Erickson pitch five innings of one hit softball allowing no runs, no walks while striking out eight batters in her 20 faced. Erickson picked up her 16th win of the season in Butler's 9-0 victory while also finishing 2-2 from the plate. Mariah Wheeler was 2-2 with a double while Emily Adler drove in two runs in the game.
NEXT UP: The Grizzlies are sitting in the optimal position having to be beaten twice in order to get knocked out of the tournament. The Grizzlies haven't lost a game since February 5th and are a tough task for anyone. They will face the winner of Barton and Hutchinson Sunday afternoon in Dodge City, KS at legends Park. That game is set to start at 10:00am with the Championship game to follow around 12:00pm.
