Big 9th Salvages Day One Split For Saints

In their final series of the 2014 season, the Seward County Saints fell flat in game one against Butler in a 7-1 loss before using an 8 run 9^th inning to come away with a 17-7 win in game two of the series to remain in the race for a home playoff series in next weekend's Region VI Tournament.

The Saints missed their chances early in game one of the series as they left six runners on through the first four innings while Butler cashed in a pair of two out runs in the 3^rd to take a 2-0 lead after 3 ½. 

The Grizzlies took advantage of a Seward error to add a run in the 4^th to make it 4-0 and played small ball to tack on another run in the 5^th to go in front 5-0. 

The Saints couldn't do anything with a two out Brandon Rix double in the 6^th and Butler continued to put the pressure on Seward with their bats, scoring two more times in the bottom of the 6^th inning to grab a 7-0 advantage. 

A misplayed fly ball by the Grizzlies in the 7^th was the only thing that kept Butler from pitching the shutout, but it was far too little too late for the Saints who dropped the opener 7-1. 

The final line was a little bit misleading at games end as Butler finished with 11 hits while Seward had 9, which included three muffed pop ups that went for hits.  Reed Thompson was the lone Saint with multiple hits in the game as he finished 2 for 4 while Bryson Allen drove in Seward's only run of the contest.  Austin King suffered a rare loss on the mound for the Saints, falling to 7-3 on the year as he went 5 1/3 innings, allowing 10 hits and 7 runs while striking out 5 and walking his second hitter of the year. 

SEWARD COUNTY/BUTLER GAME ONE BOX SCORE

Game two got off to a substantially better start for the Saints as the first two hitters of the game were given free passes in front of a three run bomb from Brent Williams to quickly give Seward a 3-0 lead in the 1^st. 

A solo home run from Brandon Urquizo extended the Saints lead to 4-0 in the 3^rd and RBI triples from Kevin Connolly and Bryson Allen in the 5^th made it a 7-0 game in favor of Seward. 

Saints starter JB Olson worked another quick inning in the bottom of the 5^th for the Saints and Seward rewarded him with two more runs in the top half of the 6^th as Williams ripped his nation's leading 32^nd double of the year to extend Seward lead to 9-0. 

Butler loaded the bases with their best scoring threat in the 7^th and a hit batter gave the Grizzlies their first run of the game to make it 9-1.  Still threatening with two outs in the inning, Olson induced a groundball to get out of the jam to keep the Saints on top 9-1. 

The Grizzlies got to Olson again in the 8^th as Evan Koehler hit his league leading 12^th home run of the season deep over the center field wall for a two run shot to make it a 9-3 game. 

After going quiet for three innings offensively, the Saints exploded in the 9^th.  Seward batted around and had eight hits, with the big blows coming in the form of a three run shot from Allen and RBI doubles and triples from Connolly to blow the game open to 17-3. 

The insurance runs came in handy as Butler continued to fight in the bottom of the 9^th, scoring four times and rolling their order over to the middle of their lineup before finally a line drive sealed the deal as the Saints picked up the 17-7 win. 

The Saints slugged out 18 hits in the win while Butler had 11 for the second straight game in the loss.  Allen, Williams, and Connolly all had monster games for Seward, combining for 10 hits and 12 RBI's in the win.  Allen missed the cycle by just a double, going 3 for 4 with a triple, a home run, and 4 RBI's.  Williams was back to his normal self, going 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, a home run, and 5 RBI's, while Connolly finished with 10 total bases, going 4 for 6 with 2 doubles, 2 triples, and 3 RBI's for the Saints.  Olson was somewhat overshadowed by the offense in the win, but the freshman was just as good as the Saints sticks on the mound. He went 8 innings, allowing 6 hits and 3 runs, while striking out 8 to earn the win to improve to 7-2 on the year. 

SEWARD COUNTY/BUTLER GAME TWO BOX SCORE

The split moves Seward to 29-24 overall and 16-14 in Jayhawk West play on the year.  Butler goes to 32-21, and 18-12 in league play. 

Seward got some help in other games around the league as Cloud County picked up two wins in their series with Colby to keep Seward's hopes of a Region VI Tournament home series alive.  With two wins on Sunday, the Saints will finish 3^rd in the Jayhawk West while anything less would drop them to 5^th place and put them on the road. 

The Saints and Grizzlies will finish the series Sunday starting at 1:00 at McDonald Stadium in El Dorado.