Offensive Explosion Leads Baseball to Doubleheader Sweep of No. 23 Barton

EL DORADO, Kan. – It was an offensive explosion for the Butler baseball squad on Thursday afternoon at McDonald Stadium

The Grizzlies (17-11, 9-5) swept a doubleheader from the 23rd ranked Barton Cougars (18-8, 10-4), combining for 30 runs and 28 hits across the two-game set. Butler won game one 16-9 in seven innings and followed that up with a 14-10 win in game two. The wins marked the first for Butler vs. a ranked opponent this season with them now being 2-0 vs. ranked teams. Butler is now a game back from Barton in the KJCCC standings.

Barton and Butler traded solo home runs in the first inning of game one. The Grizzlies then exploded for nine runs in the second inning claiming a 10-1 lead as they plated the nine runs on five hits and an error. Barton climbed right back into the game scoring twice in the third, adding five in the fourth and a run in the fifth to pull within one at 10-9. Butler then put together another big inning in the bottom of the fifth plating six to lead 16-9. Barton used five pitchers while Butler used just two. Shane Holman got the start allowing five earned runs on eight hits across 3.2 innings with one strikeout and one walk. Bradyn McClure (W, 2-2) earned the win in relief as he threw the final 3.1 innings allowing one run on one hit, striking out three and walking one. Neither team scored in the sixth or seventh. Butler outhit Barton 11-9 in the game with six Grizzlies driving in multiple runs. Barton was led offensively by Hunter Alvord's two home runs, driving in three runs.

Game two seemed as if it would be a low scoring affair as Butler used a run in the first and a run in the third to build a 2-0 lead in the early going. Barton tied the game 2-2 in the top of the fourth on a Grizzly error but Butler was unfazed. They proceeded to score eight runs in the bottom of the fourth jumping ahead 10-2. Butler sent 13 batters to the plate in the inning, tallying eight hits. No lead was safe though as Barton scored multiple runs in four straight innings getting as close as three at 10-7 in the sixth. Every time the Cougars neared, the Grizzlies had an answer using two runs each in the sixth and seventh innings to pull away for the 14-10 win. Game two served as a bullpen game for Butler as they used 10 pitchers, none threw over 1.1 innings. Connor Robinson (W, 3-1) earned the win as the Grizzlies took the lead in the fourth with him as the pitcher of record. He tossed 1.1 innings allowing no earned runs, striking out one. Barton used six pitchers in the game and were led by Kyle Walker's three hits and three RBI. Butler was paced by Jaden Rose's 4-5 effort while Cooper Rasmussen homered for the second straight game and drove in four runs.

TOP PERFORMERS GAME 1:

Bradyn McClure (Wichita, KS): W, 3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 K's, 1 BB

Jackson Ellison (Wichita, KS): 2-5, 2 RBI

Brandt Beeby (Tulsa, OK): 3-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB

Cooper Rasmussen (Temecula, CA): 2-3, 3 RBI, 2 R, HR

Jaden Rose (Overland Park, KS): 1-3, 2 RBI, 2 R

Breck Romero (Montgomery, TX): 1-3, 3 RBI, 2 R, HR

TOP PERFORMERS GAME 2:

Jaden Rose (Overland Park, KS): 4-5, 2 R, RBI

Cooper Rasmussen (Temecula, CA): 3-6, 4 RBI, 2 R, HR

Alex Coester (Girard, KS): 3-5, 2 RBI, 2 R

Brandt Beeby (Tulsa, OK): 2-4, 2 RBI

Breck Romero (Montgomery, TX): 2-4, 2 R

NOTE:

Cooper Rasmussen now leads the Jayhawk West with eight home runs following his two vs. Barton. Jaden Rose is right behind tied for second with seven long balls.

NEXT UP:

Butler travels to Great Bend on Saturday to close out the series with Barton at Lawson-Biggs Field with first pitch set for 1 p.m. in the doubleheader.