Saints Outslug Grizzlies for Win

At the end of their four game weekend series with the Butler Grizzlies, the Seward County Saints had been outscored by eight runs, but that didn’t matter as after a pair of one run wins Saturday, Seward held on for a 15-14 win in the series finale after dropping game three 12-1 to take the four game set 3-1 for their second straight Jayhawk West series win.

Butler jumped on Seward early in game three and the Saints never recovered. In fact, just three pitches into the game, Butler leadoff man Garrett Chalker sent a ball over the left field wall to give the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead right off the bat.

The Saints did score a run on a groundout in the bottom of the 1st, but they wouldn’t score again.

The Grizzlies plated five more in the 5th to take a 6-1 lead and chase Seward starter Brian Tims from the contest.

Butler continued to assault Saints pitching in the 4th inning, scoring three times to take a 9-1 lead and then tacked on three more in the 5th to go ahead 12-1.

Seward went down quietly in the bottom of the 5th and just like that, the Grizzlies had themselves a 12-1 run rule win to pick up their first victory in the series.

The Grizzlies outhit the Saints 12-3 in the contest and Seward also committed four errors while Butler played a clean game defensively. Addison Kaasch had two of Seward’s three hits in the game. Tims was hit hard on the mound, falling to 1-7 on the year as he failed to get out of the 2nd inning while allowing six hits and six runs.

SEWARD COUNTY/BUTLER GAME THREE BOX SCORE<http://www.sewardsaints.com/sports/bsb/2016-17/boxscores/20170409_z9kj.xml>

The series finale started inconspicuously as Seward and Butler were scoreless after two innings of play. Things got wild from there.

Butler started the scoring with a four run 3rd to go ahead 4-0, but the Saints answered right back, putting up a six spot of their own highlighted by two RBI singles from Owen Martin and Brendan Madsen to take a 6-4 lead after three.

The Grizzlies put up their second straight crooked number in the 4th with five runs on four hits, retaking a 9-6 lead after 3 ½.

Saints reliever Jacob Nielsen calmed the storm, averting further damage in the 4th while blanking the Grizzlies in the top of the 5th to keep it a 9-6 game.

Seward exploded in the bottom of the 5th, getting a bases clearing double from Kaasch to tie the game at nine and three batters later a towering three run home run from Law Griener to put the Saints ahead 12-9. They didn’t stop there, getting a bullet two run triple off the bat of Madsen later in the inning to finish the inning with eight runs to take a 14-9 lead after five.

A double and a home run for Butler in the 6th cut the Seward lead to 14-11, but Kaasch continued his big day with a bomb of his own in the bottom of the frame to make it 15-11 Seward.

There was nothing going through the next two innings for either side and they went to the 9th with the score still 15-11.

Nobody said it was going to be easy to close this one out and the Saints found that out in the 9th. A solo home run for Butler made it a 15-12 game, but further trouble ensued later in the frame as the Grizzlies got a two run shot to make it 15-14. A Seward error put the tying run on base for Butler, but Saints reliever Jordan Pepper got a pop up to put the second out of the inning on the board. A single and a five pitch walk loaded the bases for the Grizzlies but Pepper found another gear, stranding the tying run 90 feet from fruition, getting the biggest strikeout of his young Seward County career to end the threat and finish off a 15-14 win for the Saints to take the series 3-1.

Butler outhit Seward 18-14 in the game, but seven of the Saints 14 knocks were for extra bases in the win. Kaasch finished 4 for 5 with four RBI’s, missing the cycle by just a triple in the victory while Madsen was 3 for 5 with four RBI’s at the bottom of the order, missing a cycle of his own by just a home run. Nielsen earned his first win as a Saint, gutting out 5 1/3 innings through the middle of the game for Seward while Pepper earned his first career save as he closed out the tense situation in the 9th.

SEWARD COUNTY/BUTLER GAME FOUR BOX SCORE<http://www.sewardsaints.com/sports/bsb/2016-17/boxscores/20170409_ph7c.xml>

The Saints improve to 16-23 overall and 9-11 in Jayhawk West play with the series victory while Butler’s tough 2017 continues as they fall to 15-22 overall and 7-16 in league play.

Seward will be back at it on Wednesday when they travel to Clarendon, Texas to take on the Bulldogs in non-conference action before returning to Jayhawk West play Friday and Saturday in Great Bend where they will take on the Barton Cougars.  Friday’s game one airs only on kscbnews.net and game two will be joined on 1270.  Both games Saturday air on 1270 and kscbnews.net.