Story by Kalon Fullerton
The Grizzlies rebounded after a tough loss to rival Hutchinson Blue Dragons; earning a series split in the battle of the two top teams in the conference at East Park on Wednesday. The Grizzlies dropped game one, 7-2, before winning the second game in a lapper with a 9-1 victory to salvage the series.
The Grizzlies were held in check by Hutch's pitching in game one, scoring just two runs on six hits. Ryanna Valdivia and Kaylah Newman earned the two RBIs in the defeat, but a three run home run in the fifth from Hutch proved to be too much to overcome.
The bats came to life in the second game, as the Grizzlies scored nine runs on 13 hits, scoring in every inning except for two. Eight Grizzly batters got on base and four earned multi hit games, led by JaKeyla McDaniel who earned three. Butler took the lead on a two run bomb from Briona Woods in the second inning and they never surrendered, as Reece Briggs also added to her home run tally with a three run shot in the sixth inning to blow the game open. Briggs finished the day with four RBIs while Woods came close behind with three, and Kendyl Anderson and Aly Hagerman also batted in runs.
Allyson Montgomery earned her 15th victory in game two, pitching four innings and striking out three. Emma Koeneke came on in relief and pitched two shutout innings for her first save of the year.
The split means that the Grizzlies and the Blue Dragons also split the season series at two wins a piece and are currently tied in the conference standings. The Grizzlies improve to 28-8 on the year and 19-3 in conference play. Next up for Butler will be a trip to Ark City on Monday to face the Cowley Tigers in a nonconference doubleheader.
