Butler Softball Falls Short in NJCAA Plains District Championship
DODGE CITY, Kan. – The Butler Grizzlies fell to Dodge City 4-2 in the Plains District Tournament, potentially ending the Grizzlies up and down season.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
DODGE CITY, Kan. – The Butler Grizzlies fell to Dodge City 4-2 in the Plains District Tournament, potentially ending the Grizzlies up and down season.
After starting the season 2-8, the Grizzlies flipped the script towards the middle half of the season and ending the regular season on a 14-game winning streak, putting them in second place in the final KJCCC standings.
Butler still holds hope for an at-large bid in the NJCAA Softball World Series. The selection show for the tournament will be on Tuesday May 19th at 6:30 p.m. ET on the NJCAA Network.
After three scoreless innings, the Grizzlies scored the first run of the game in the bottom half of the fourth after Kate Free's RBI single scored DeShawnna Bryant, putting the Grizzlies up 1-0.
Butler added onto their lead in the fifth after Kyler Demel's RBI ground out scored Lizzy Lassley, making the score 2-0 heading into the sixth. But from that point on, it was all Dodge City.
The Conquistadors put up three runs in the top of the sixth to take the lead at 3-2 and later scored again in the seventh to make the score 4-2. The Grizzlies were held to only one hit in the final two innings and went three up and three down in the bottom of the seventh, as Dodge City claimed their first Region 6 title in 24 years on their own field.
With the win for Dodge City, the Conquistadors earn an automatic bid to the NJCAA Softball World Series in Oxford, AL.
The Grizzlies amassed only three hits in 24 at bats and struck out six times on the afternoon. Dodge City managed seven total hits in 26 at bats.
Butler pitcher Addison Chapman had an outstanding tournament, throwing a total of 33.3 innings across six games while striking out 32 batters. Chapman, along with Haely Hagemann and Emillee Stofferahn, were named to the Plains District All-Tournament Team.
If this is it for the Grizzlies, they say goodbye to six sophomores: Elisabeth Nobert, Kyler Demel, Anistyn Marcotte, Karson Holson, Ellie Randall, and Emillee Stofferahn.
