Cody Herald proved to be a prophet — at least on this day.

“I always tell our lead-off hitter that if you go, the others will follow,” Butler's varsity baseball coach said.

Golden Tornado lead-off batter Kyle Weitzel drilled the first pitch he saw into left field for a single during Butler's season opener Monday at Michelle Krill Field at Pullman Park. A barrage of hits and runs followed.

When the smoke cleared, the Tornado had an 18-1, three-inning victory over New Castle. Butler lashed out 17 hits and its first three batters — Weitzel, Colby Anderson and Nathan Stutz — did not make an out in 12 plate appearances.

Weitzel, Butler's center fielder, went 4-for-4, collecting three singles, a double, two RBI and four runs scored.

“This is a good confidence -builder for us,” Weitzel said. “We lost our two scrimmages (vs. Penn Trafford and Hampton) and we showed ourselves today that we can be successful.

“Cody told me that if I liked the first pitch and could drive it, to go for it. It might be the best pitch I see in that at-bat.”

Butler has a lineup full of first-year starters after graduating 15 seniors from last season.

Weitzel, Anderson and Stutz combined for 10 hits, 10 runs and eight RBI on the day.

Simon Brown delivered a two-run single to highlight a three-run first inning as Butler took a 3-0 lead. After a two-out double by New Castle's J.T. Micco cut the gap to 3-1 in the second, the Tornado exploded in the bottom of the frame.

Sixteen batters came to the plate. Anderson and J.R. Herold had two run doubles in the inning — Herold's ball hitting the top of the wall down the right field line — and Stutz had a run-scoring triple to center.

“I was so happy to see the way we responded at the plate after they scored a run on us,” Herald said. “We did a great job of waiting on pitches and squaring up the baseball.

“We hit a lot of balls back through the middle and the other way. That's what we've been preaching ... Don't try to do too much.”

New Castle starting pitcher Vince Soukovich lasted only 1.1 innings, throwing 50 pitches before leaving the mound.

The Red Hurricanes used three pitchers and none could stop the Tornado onslaught.

“Disappointing,” New Castle coach Bill Cook said of the loss. “We have some young guys out there, but a lot of veterans, too.

“Vince is one of our experienced pitchers. He had trouble finding the zone today and they got to him. Butler is a very good team. They were disciplined at the plate.”

Josh Grigoletti worked all three innings on the hill to get the win for Butler. He threw 49 pitches and struck out three. He walked two and hit a batter as well.

“Josh fell behind on a few hitters, but I thought he threw well overall,” Herald said. “We don't really have a pitching rotation yet. That will work itself out.”

Butler tallied 17 hits in the contest. Everyone in the starting lineup reached base and scored a run.

“We come back and play a game on Tuesday,” Cook said. “That's the beauty of baseball. We'll use this a learning tool, make adjustments, fix our mistakes and see what happens tomorrow.”

Butler hosts Mt. Lebanon at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

New Castle 010 xxx x — 1 3 3

Butler 3(12)3 xxx x — 18 17 0

W: Josh Grigoletti 3IP (3K, 2BB). L: Vince Soukovich 1.1IP (2K, 2BB).

New Castle (0-1): Nick Morello 1B, Logan Gibson 1B, J.T. Micco 2B RBI

Butler (1-0): Kyle Weitzel 3-1B 2B 4-R 2-RBI, Colby Anderson 2B 2-1B 3-R 4-RBI, Nathan Stutz 3B 2-1B 3-R 2-RBI, J.R. Herold 1B 2B 3-RBI, Simon Brown 2-1B 2-RBI, Josh Grigoletti 1B 2-R RBI, Josh Bonnetti 2-1B 2-R RBI

Wednesday: Mt. Lebanon at Butler, 4 p.m., Pullman Park