If you weren’t watching Butler Lady Bears Softball on Thursday Night, you were missing out! The Bears, who were sitting at 1-5 played host to the 2-8 El Dorado Springs Bulldogs. This conference match-up would end up wearing out the scoreboard as the Bears and Bulldogs squared off in a high scoring affair.
Avery Eldrid would begin in the circle for the Lady Bears, and would get out the first 3 Bulldogs batters that she faced. Then in the bottom of the first, the Bears would draw first blood, as Cloey Fritts would get on base with a single, and would be batted in by a double off of the bat of Gracee Lesmeister. At the conclusion of the first inning, the Bears looked solid with a 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs however would answer in the 2nd scoring 4 runs of their own. Sydney Davis would begin with a lead off single for the Bears to start the bottom of the 2nd, with Haven Humphrey joining her, reaching with a fielder’s choice two batters later. Miranda Foster, the 9 hole hitter, would bring both Davis and Humphrey in with a 2 RBI double. The Bears weren’t finished yet, as Foster plated by an RBI double by Cloey Fritts. Cloey would then score off of a base hit by Lesmeister. The Bears would take a 5-4 lead after 2 innings.
The Bulldogs would reclaim a lead after the 3rd, as they outscored the Bears 2 to nil, which brought the total to 6-5. But the Bear’s went on a scoring frenzy, tallying 11 runs of their own, after holding the ‘Dogs to 0. The Lady Bears rally was kickstarted by Brooke Miller who got on base via an error, followed by Cloey who was hit by a pitch, Zoey was then able to bring in Miller with a base hit RBI. Now with 2 runners on, Barth was able to bring them both home with a 2 RBI base hit of her own.
Davis was hit by a pitch following Barth’s base hit. With two runners on, and two outs recorded, Haven Humphrey was struck out, but reached first base on an error by the El Dorado catcher, which would load the bases full of Bears. Foster was then hit by a pitch to drive in yet another Bears run.
Brooke Miller was then able to get an RBI base hit, followed by a 2 RBI double for Cloey Fritts. Lesmeister kept the rally going by hitting a double herself. Zoey Fritts followed that up by reaching 1st on an error, followed by Barth taking a base on balls. Sydney Davis then got an RBI base hit before the inning was concluded. So after a high scoring 4th inning for the Bears, they led 16-6.
The Bears looked like they were in a position to run-rule the Bulldogs if they could hold their 10 run advantage through the 5th, but the Bulldogs wouldn’t go away that easily, as they scored 5 in the 5th. That would bring the score to 16-11 as the Bears were unable to score in the bottom half of the inning.
In the 6th, the Bears would cross home plate a total of 3 times, to the Bulldogs 4, bringing the total to 19-15 heading into the 7th. The Bulldogs would rally to put up 8 runs, taking a 23-19 lead as the Bears were set to swing the bats in the 7th. Needing 4 runs to force extra innings, and 5 to walk it off, Brooke Miller would lead off for the Bears, getting a base hit up the middle, followed by a base hit by Cloey Fritts as she poked a ball over the head of the shortstop.
Lesmeister loads up the bases after being struck by a pitch, followed by an RBI base hit up the middle by Zoey Fritts. Joliegh Barth brought in Cloey Fritts with an RBI. Then Davis got an RBI as she brought in Zoey and reached 1st herself on an error. Cumpton then keeps the Bears rolling an RBI single, bringing in Barth.
The Bulldogs were able to get out of the inning by catching Sydney Davis attempting to steal home, and then striking out the following batter.
And just like that, we were headed to bonus softball! With a score of 23 a piece, we were set for extra innings. The Bulldogs would drive in 1 run in the 8th to take a 24-23 lead. The Bears would then go to work, with Miranda Foster leading off the additional inning for the Bears. Foster would get a lead-off single, placing a ball right past the infield. After the following batter struck out, Cloey would tie the game with an RBI double, driving in Foster. Lesmeister would step to the plate and walk it off, as she brought in Fritts. After a barrage of scoring, the Bears would win 25-24 and improve to 2-5 on the season!
Cloey led the Bears, scoring 7 runs on 5 hits in 5 at bats, and racking up 4 RBIs. Foster, Davis, Barth and Lesmeister would all tally 3 RBIs on the night as well. The Bears swung the bats well as they totaled 22 hits on the night with only 8 strikeouts.
