By Christopher Tenpenny
It was a memorable Senior Night for the Butler baseball team as they defeated Buffalo 12-3 April 26 at Butler.
The Bears have four seniors on the team: Jade Warmbrodt, Levi Williams, Gustin Hayes and Wyatt Cox. All four seniors had at least one hit in the game. “It was a good night for us,” head coach Kevin Hill said. “That’s the first time we’ve had senior night in three years. COVID last year and rain the year before.
“We are swinging the bats a lot better and it was good to come away with the win.”
The Bears struck first in the bottom of the second on a two-run single by Warmbrodt. Two years ago, Warmbrodt went his entire sophomore season without a hit, but has become a reliable hitter at the bottom of the Bears lineup.
Buffalo answered with a run of its own in the top of third to make the score 2-1. Then the Bears broke it open in the bottom of the inning. Butler scored seven runs in the inning. The Bears used its speed as they stole four bases in the third. The key hits came on a two-run double by Zayn Carson and an RBI triple by Jeremy Woods.
The Bears would tack on a few more runs late and win the game 12-3. Maddox pitch 4.1 innings and struck out four while allowing one earned run.
Prior to the game, the Bears had been scuffling as they had lost four of its last five. The victory against Buffalo propelled the Bears to a strong week as they went 3-1 including a 9-3 victory at Buffalo April 30 and a 4-2 win against El Dorado Springs Monday.
El Dorado Springs was on an eightgame winning streak prior to its loss to the Bears Monday. Fennewald pitched 6.1 innings and earned the victory. The freshman struck out six and allowed two hits.
The Bears are now 9-10 with five games left in the regular season. They look to be either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the Class 3 District 14 Tournament May 14-18.
Hill said the team wants to finish strong and focus on performing well at districts. “The focus shifts a little to the District Tournament at this point in the season,” Hill said. “It’s that crazy time of year where we have few games and even fewer practices left. We want to finish the schedule strong and go into the tournament with some momentum.”
Butler is scheduled to travel to Clinton today before welcoming Warsaw tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
