It came down to the wire on Thursday, as the Butler Bears grabbed the victory in walk-off fashion, 11-10, over the Versailles Tigers. The Bears were down 10-9 in the bottom of the eighth inning when Senior Cloey Fritts tripled, scoring two runs.
Bats blistered as the Butler Bears collected 15 hits and the Tigers tallied 13 in the high scoring game.
The Lady Tigers got on the board in the top of the first inning when Frankie Shewmaker tripled, scoring one run, Mady Rayl singled, scoring one run, Brooklyn Yoder tripled, scoring two runs, and Ragen Wilson singled, scoring one run.
The Tigers added one run in the second after Erin Bland singled on a 0-2 count.
Freshman Kylee Dubray doubled on a 0-2 count, which helped the Butler Bears tie the game at six in the bottom of the fourth.
The Lady Bears took the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Sophomore Taylor Hudson doubled, scoring two runs, to give the Bears the edge, 8-6. The Lady Tigers tied the game up in the top of the sixth thanks to two errors. The Tigers tied the game at eight on an error.
The Butler Lady Bears took the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Senior Haven Humphrey tripled, scoring one run, to give the Bears the advantage, 9-8.
Jazzy Lutjen singled, which helped the Lady Tigers tie the game at nine in the top of the seventh. The Tigers took the lead in the top of the eighth. Ashlynn Davidson scored after tagging up, to give the Lady Tigers the edge, 10-9.
Dubray led things off in the circle for the Bears. The starting pitcher allowed 13 hits and 10 runs (seven earned) over eight innings, striking out nine and walking one. Davidson took the game for the Lady Tigers. The starting pitcher gave up six hits and six runs over three and one-thirds innings, striking out five and walking five.
The Lady Bears amassed 15 hits in the game. Dubray drove the middle of the lineup, leading the Butler Bears with five runs batted in. They went 3-for-4 on the day. Leadoff hitter Hudson led the Bears with five hits and five at bats.
Fritts and Humphrey each collected multiple hits for the Bears. Butler had a strong eye at the plate, collecting seven walks for the game. Freshman Gabbie Carmichael and Senior Miranda Foster led the team with two free passes each.
