Another Day Another Run-Rule Win

MYRTLE BEACH, SC — Koby Dues didn’t need long to make his presence felt Tuesday morning.

Neither did Butler.

The Aviators opened their doubleheader at The Ripken Experience with a 14–4 win over Lower Merion, breaking open a tight game in a middle-inning surge.

Dues set the tone.

The junior shortstop went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI, delivering the game’s defining swing in the fourth—a three-run home run to right that stretched a two-run lead into something far more comfortable. He added two singles and swiped a pair of bases, impacting the game in just about every way available.

Butler followed his lead.

After getting on the board in the second on a groundout from Jaden Starcher, the Aviators found separation in the third. Paxton Dwenger drove a ball into the right-field gap for a run-scoring triple, and Jackson Schilling followed with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 3–1.

An inning later, they put it away.

Seven runs. Seven hits. No wasted opportunities.

Declan Scheffler started it with an RBI single. Dues cleared the bases. Jack Egbert added a two-run double, and Davis Ketterer capped the inning with a run-scoring hit of his own. By the end of the fourth, Butler had built a 10–1 lead and forced Lower Merion into catch-up mode the rest of the morning.

They never got there.

Ketterer handled the work on the mound, going six innings to earn the win. He allowed nine hits and four runs, but didn’t issue a walk and struck out eight, working efficiently and staying in control throughout. Of his 88 pitches, 61 went for strikes—a steady presence behind a lineup that kept adding on.

And they did.

Butler finished with 14 hits, with Dues and Ketterer each collecting three. Schilling and Aidan White added multiple hits, while the Aviators stayed aggressive on the bases, piling up seven stolen bases—three coming from White alone.

Defensively, Butler was clean. No errors. Routine plays handled the way they’re supposed to be, with Schilling recording eight putouts behind the plate.

Lower Merion put together nine hits of its own, led by Nick Dragut’s 3-for-3 day, including a third-inning home run that briefly tied the game. James Given and Parker Gregg each added multiple hits, but the Aces couldn’t match Butler’s stretch in the middle innings.

That was the difference.

A close game through two innings turned quickly—and once Butler gained control, they didn’t give it back.

The Aviators (2–0) move on to face Liverpool (N.Y.) in the second and final game of the day.