The Butler baseball team did it again, completing another comeback, to advance to the next round of the Region VI & Plains District tournament with a 10-7 win over Colby Thursday afternoon at Dean Evans Stadium in Salina, KS.
"It feels good," said head coach BJ McVay. "These guys just continue to grind it out and find a way to get it done. We got big hits and big plays when we needed them and came out on top today."
Colby maintained a consistent lead over the Grizzlies until the 6th inning when a two-RBI double by Bryce Zimmerer would give the Grizzlies an 8-7 lead, a lead they would never give up.
The Grizzlies would get a pair of insurance runs to increase their lead to 10-7 off of two separate Josh Cameron RBI's; one in the 6th inning and one in the 8th. Cameron finished the game with three RBI's, now at a team high 69 runs batted in on the season.
Colby led by as many as four-runs at 6-2, but the Grizzlies, as they have all post season, never felt they were out of the fight and stormed back to win it and advance to the next round.
Butler got some clutch relief pitching appearances from Braxton Hyde and Andrew Wisner. Hyde came in relief in the 6th inning and recorded four strikeouts and only allowed one Colby run through 2 and 1/3 innings. Then, after Hyde allowed two runners on with only one out, Wisner came in to try and preserve what was now a 9-7 Grizzly lead. Wisner did just that recording the final two outs of the inning to maintain the Butler lead.
After the Grizzlies extended their lead to 10-7 with the RBI from Josh Cameron, it was once again Zach Nagel who was called on to close out the game for the Grizzlies. Nagel came through in the clutch picking up his 7th save of the season with two fly outs and a strikeout in the top of the ninth.
"We are never out of a game," commented Jackson Syring, Butler centerfielder. "Doesn't matter if we are down three or ten, we will find a ways to put runs on the board. We have a great group of guys that never give up and with that I feel we are never out of a game."
Bryce Zimmerer and Josh Cameron both finished 2-4 at the plate driving in three runs each. They both had a double in the game and a sac. Zimmerer recorded one stolen base and scored one run. Jonah Cox was 1-3 with two solen bags and two runs scored.
Braxton Hyde picked up the victory going 2.1 innings. He faced 13 batters giving up just one run off four hits and struck out six while giving up no walks.
This win marks the furthest the Grizzlies have advanced in the postseason since the 2015 season The Grizzlies will now face the winner of Kansas City Kansas vs Cowley on Friday at 1:00 PM at Dean Evans Stadium in Salina, KS.
