Offensive 4th inning propels Butler Twp. to 11-1 victory
BUTLER TWP — Butler Township seems to have defending Butler County Area Baseball League champion Seneca’s number — at least through their first two tilts.
Six players in the hosts’ batting order recorded hits during their 11-1 win over Seneca in four and a half innings Monday at Butler Senior High School, with five enjoying multi-hit performances. Five of Butler Township’s seven third-inning knocks came with two outs.
“Just good at bats, really the whole way across the board,” Butler Township coach Tyler Friel said. “I thought we had a really good approach at the plate, basically all night. I thought we worked pitch counts deep, put balls in play, and that’s the big thing.”
Butler Township (5-1) entered that eruption of a third frame up by two runs. Braden Marcellus led matters off with a double to the left center field wall, then Kyle Yost was plunked by Seneca (5-2) starting pitcher Patrick O’Toole. Brady Lyon followed that with an RBI single before the visitors managed to get consecutive outs.
Ryan Hepfl worked an infield single and swiped second, Carson Knight was hit by a pitch, then four straight hits — by Ethan Trettel, Karter Wetzel, Marcellus, and Yost — broke the game open.
“This game, to me, was perfect,” Friel said. “I thought we really got on the bases. I thought we did a really good job filling up the zone. Braden only had one walk throughout the whole course of the game.
“And whenever we got on bases, we made things happen and got some big hits at big times.”
Seneca’s lone run came on an RBI groundout by designated hitter Alex Mortier in the top of the initial inning. Both Calen Wilkerson and O’Toole had two-hit showings.
“There was some bad luck on our side, good luck on their side today,” Seneca Matt Baic said. “But, you know, sometimes good teams lose. We’ll come back. We were down a couple key players today, but it’s good to get everybody exposure.
“At some point, there are going to be kids out. And you’re going to have to get these kids seasoned. You can’t just throw them in at the last second, so that was a good game to get some time.”
Marcellus and Hepfl both reached base three times for Butler Township. Marcellus had three hits and Trettel, Yost, Lyon, and Hepfl two apiece. All of them pushed across base-runners.
“We like where we’re at,” Friel said. “It’s a game-by-game thing — and I don’t know if momentum carries here — but I think we do a good job of just looking at the current game and trying to tackle that challenge each day.”
Luckily for Seneca, it won’t have to wait long to rinse the bad taste from its mouth. The team will pay Pine-Richland a visit on Tuesday.
“It’s just getting more reps,” Baic said. “We had a 10-day break ... We won the championship last year, and we played so many games in July that it was like every other day. Kids got hot, and taking a long break, that showed today.”
SENECA 100 00x x — 1 7 2
BUTLER TWP 038 0xx x — 11 12 0
W: Braden Marcellus 5IP (2K, 1BB). L: Patrick O’Toole 2.2IP (3K, 1BB)
Seneca (5-2): Calen Wilkerson 2-1B R, Patrick O’Toole 2-1B, Alex Mortier RBI, Ethan Staudt 1B, Keegan Baic 1B, Jacob Milbert 1B
Butler Twp. (5-1): Ethan Trettel 2-1B RBI R, Karter Wetzel 1B 2RBI 2R, Braden Marcellus 2B 2-1B R, Kyle Yost 2B 1B 2RBI 2R, Brady Lyon 2-1B RBI R, Anthony Panichelle R, Ryan Hepfl 2-1B 2RBI 2R, Carson Knight R
Tuesday: Seneca at Pine-Richland
Wednesday: Butler vs. Pine-Richland
