Story by Wyatt Ebersole

Butler Softball swept non-conference opponent, Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa on Monday afternoon, winning game one in dominant fashion, 9-1 in six innings, and winning a thrilling, back-and-forth game two, 13-11 on a walk-off three run homerun by Cady Dickey. The pair of wins for the now 20th ranked Grizzlies pushes them over the 30-win plateau for the 13th straight season, moving them to 31-10 overall. The losses for the Mavericks drop them to 21-17 on the season. 

Game One

Game one was all Grizzlies from the get-go, as the Grizzlies plated five runs over the first two innings to jump out in front quickly. JaKeyla McDaniel was the first to score, coming across the plate on a wild pitch in the first inning. Kendyl Anderson scored two more in the first, hitting a two-RBI single to right to bring in Briona Woods and Ryanna Valdivia. After Allyson Montgomery struck out the side in the top half of the second, Valdivia drove in two more runs in the bottom half via a bases loaded double down the line in left to score Aly Hageman and Brianna Acosta. After a scoreless third inning, the Grizzlies found offense again. McDaniel came in to score on a wild pitch once again and Valdivia emptied the bases with a two-run shot to left to make it 8-0 Grizzlies through four innings. The Mavericks hit a solo homerun in the top of the fifth to make it 8-1 and temporarily avoid the run-rule. After the Grizzlies went scoreless in the fifth and then held the Mavericks off the board in the sixth, Valdivia came up big again, hitting an RBI single up the middle to give the Grizzlies the 9-1 win in six innings in game one.  

Valdivia was on fire in game one, going 3-3 with five RBIs, a walk, and she came in to score twice.

Allyson Montgomery collected win #17 on the year, going five innings, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out nine Mavericks.

Ariel Matula also got an inning in the circle, keeping the bases empty while striking out two in her solo inning of work. 

Game Two

Game two was action packed, with the teams going back-and-forth the entire game. Valdivia opened the scoring in game two, recording her sixth RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly to right that scored McDaniel from third. Briona Woods followed that with double in the gap in left center to bring in Kaylah Newman and gave the Grizzlies a swift 2-0 lead through one inning. The Mavericks found a quick answer, hitting a two-RBI single to tie the game up 2-2. Reece Briggs gave the Grizzlies the lead back quickly, smacking a softball to right center field for an RBI double to make it 3-2 Grizzlies. Tonkawa took their first lead of the day in the top of the third after an RBI groundout and a two-RBI double made it 5-3 Mavericks. The Grizzlies again answered as Amayiah Hall used her speed to beat out a double play and allowed Kendyl Anderson to score from third. Briggs came up big again, hitting another ball to right field to bring in two more runs for the Grizzlies and give them the lead back at 6-5. Both sides went scoreless in the fourth, but the Mavericks brought in a run in the top of the fifth to tie the game up 6-6. Hall once again showed off her speed, coming in to score on a wild pitch in the bottom half of the inning to make it 7-6 Grizzlies through five innings. Tonkawa tied it again in the top of the sixth with a bases loaded single to make it 7-7. The Mavericks made a costly error in the bottom of the sixth, as a routine fly ball that would have been the third out of the inning, managed to drop in left field allowing the Grizzlies to score two runs on the play, and a follow up RBI single from McDaniel brought in another run to make it now 10-7 Grizzlies heading to the seventh. Against the odds, the Mavericks managed to score four runs in the seventh and looked to steal the game from 20th ranked Grizzlies. With two outs in the inning, Cady Dickey stepped to the plate with two runners on, needing a base hit to tie the game. Dickey did much more than that, blasting a no-doubt, three-run homerun to left center field to give the Grizzlies the walk-off win 13-11 in game two. 

Matula collected the win in relief for the Grizzlies, her second win of the year. Amayiah Hall was 3-4 with an RBI and four runs scored. Hall also stole four bases in game two alone.

The Grizzlies have a quick turnaround as they resume conference play on Wednesday at home against Barton at 1 and 3PM