Aviators Bow Out In The Elite Eight
- vandaliabutlerbaseba
- Jun 6
- 2 min read
OXFORD — On a stage they fought all season to reach, the Aviators finally met a challenge they couldn’t outrun.
Facing a battle-tested Badin squad with state aspirations of its own, Butler fell 10–1 in Thursday’s Division III Regional Final at Miami University — a sudden, sobering end to one of the most successful seasons in program history.
“Definitely not the start we wanted,” said head coach Trent Dues. “They hit well. We weren’t fooling them for sure.”
While both teams dodged the rain, the Aviators found themselves in the middle of a storm from the jump.
Badin wasted no time seizing control — scoring four in the first and never looking back. The Rams sprayed 11 hits, executed on cue, and played flawless defense — the kind of performance that ends dreams — and seasons.
And yet, for all of Badin’s execution, Butler kept swinging.
They put balls in play. They found barrels. But on a day when nothing seemed to fall, it simply wasn’t enough.
“We actually sprayed it around pretty good,” Dues said. “But they caught about everything.”
Tate Richardson led the Aviators with two of the team’s four hits. Russell Stratman drove in Butler’s lone run. Max Rubins reached base and stole a pair. Even down to their final outs, the Aviators kept grinding — like they always do.
Butler tied the mark for second most wins in program history. They swept their league. They beat top-ranked opponents. They delivered comebacks. And they brought Butler back to the regional final for the first time since a star-studded team made the trip in 2021.
“Very proud of the season we had,” Dues said.
And he should be.
This senior class leaves Butler with more than a standout season in the history books. They leave behind a standard — for how to work, how to lead, and how to wear the name across the front of the jersey.
They leave behind the memory of a season where they won every way imaginable — with walk-offs and shutouts, blowouts and dogfights. A season that gave a community something to rally around. And they leave the next group a roadmap — one paved by 28 wins, a regional final, and the undeniable reminder that Butler baseball continues to stand among the state’s best. In all divisions.
There’s no shame in how it ended.
Only pride in how they got here.
No shame in the way they played yesterday. Every long drive off an aviator bat was chased down. Badin's outfield played outstanding robbing Butler of multi base hits. On the other hand Badin found the gap a number of times by inches. I was sitting amongst the Badin fans. When Logan Smith came on and cooled down the bats, Badin fans would groan about his speed and wonder how Badin couldn't hit him! Pure highlight of the day.
Great Job by the team, a great season. No shame in losing to a team that should win the state championship.