No. 1 Butler rolls to five run-rule wins at Colby tourney

The Butler softball team made short work of the Allen Wolf Memorial Tournament in Colby over the weekend, winning all five games by run-rule and scoring in double figures in four of the five.

The Grizzlies, ranked No. 1 in the nation, started with an 11-0 win over an Otero (Colo.) team that entered the tournament with a 45-4 record. Butler then dispatched Trinidad State (Colo.) 8-0 in six innings. The Grizzlies then faced No. 17 Western Nebraska in a highly-anticipated matchup. Butler no-hit the Cougars on its way to a 14-0 win.

On Sunday, Butler defeated McCook (Neb.) 18-4 and Lamar (Colo.) 11-0 to wrap up tournament play.

Butler is now 39-2 on the season. The Grizzlies are next scheduled to play at Pratt on Thursday and then will host Garden City in a conference doubleheader at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Butler 11, Otero 0 (five innings)

The Grizzlies braced for a stiff test against a 45-4 Otero team that was receiving votes in the national rankings earlier in the week. Maggie Ham set the tone for Butler by striking out the side in the top of the first inning. In the bottom half, Sydney Stuever led off with a home run, and Kate James added a solo homer later in the inning and the Grizzles would not look back.

Stuever drove in two more runs in the second inning with a bases-loaded single to center to score Ashton Atwell and Caitlin Coody.

Butler then put together one of its patented big innings in the fourth, scoring seven runs. Kaitlyn Wolken hit a three-run homer to center and Kate James hit her second home run of the game to ignite the rally.

Ham pitched four scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing just two hits. Kelsey Berlin threw the fifth inning in relief, striking out two.

Butler 8, Trinidad State 0 (six innings)

Butler started slowly against Trinidad, scoring just one run in the first two innings on an RBI groundout by Kate James. James then blasted her fifth home run in four games with a three-run shot in the third inning that made it a 4-0 game.

Butler would also get a two-run double from Alex Millspaugh in the fifth and an RBI single by Kaitlyn Wolken in the sixth to end the game.

Mac Millspaugh pitched the first five innings, allowing just one hit while striking out six batters, to get the win and improve to 12-0 on the season. Kelsey Berlin threw the final inning in relief, striking out two more batters.

Butler 14, Western Nebraska 0 (five innings)

Maggie Ham and Kelsey Berlin threw a combined no-hitter against No. 17 Western Nebraska in the final game on Saturday. Ham threw the first four innings, walking two and striking out three. Kelsey Berlin threw the final inning in the run-rule shortened game.

Meanwhile offensively, Butler put up 11 runs in the first three innings. In the first inning, Sydney Stuever scored on a wild pitch and Ashton Atwell hit a three-run home run as Butler took a 4-0 lead.

In the second inning, Stuever hit a two-run home run. Then in the third, Butler scored five runs, highlighted by a two-run double by Alyssa Aguilar. The Grizzlies got two more home runs in the fourth inning – a solo shot by Kelsey Berlin to lead off the inning and a two-run homer from Tyler Casada later in the inning.

Butler 18, McCook 4 (five innings)

McCook was the only team in the tournament to take a lead on Butler, scoring two runs in the first inning against Maggie Ham. 

Butler roared back, scoring eight runs in the second, six runs in the third and four runs in the fourth for its highest scoring output of the season, tying the 18 runs scored in a win at Garden City on March 28.

Sydney Stuever hit two home runs and was 3-5 at the plate with five RBI. Ashley Malone also homered and was 4-4 at the plate with four RBI. Butler also got home runs from Kaitlyn Wolken and Ashton Atwell.

Maggie Ham pitched two innings, allowing three runs with a walk and four strikeouts. Kelsey Berlin pitched one scoreless inning, striking out all three batters she faced, while Brittany Gustin threw two innings, allowing one run and striking out three.

Butler 11, Lamar 0 (five innings)

Butler finished the tournament with one more dominating performance. Kate James hit her sixth home run of the tournament, a two-run shot that came in the first inning. Ashton Atwell also homored, going 2-3 with three RBI. Ashley Malone was 2-3 with two RBI and a double.

Maggie Ham threw three innings, striking out five without giving up a hit. Brittany Gustin finished the game, throwing two innings of scoreless relief.