Aviators Hit Indians With Offensive Blitz

RIVERSIDE — Sometimes the hardest thing in high school baseball is showing up with the same edge against a team you’re supposed to beat.

Monday, Butler did.

No emotional letdown. No sluggish start to the week. No drifting through innings waiting for talent to eventually win out. The Aviators played with urgency from the opening pitch, overwhelmed Stebbins early, and walked out of Riverside with a 17-0 five-inning win to improve to 19-3 overall and 13-2 in the Miami Valley League.

And once Butler’s lineup found rhythm in the second inning, the game turned into a landslide in a hurry.

The Aviators erupted for 10 runs in the frame, sending 15 hitters to the plate and forcing Stebbins to spend most of the inning trying simply to stop the momentum from snowballing further.

Declan Scheffler drove in a run with a single. Koby Dues added a two-run hit. Jackson Schilling followed with another two-run single. Then, red hot Jack Egbert turned on a pitch and drove a two-run homer to left field as Butler’s lead stretched wider with nearly every batter.

By the time Aidan White doubled home another run and Ezra Scheffler forced in one more after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, Butler had completely seized control. And drained what little hope was present amongst the Indians.

Egbert finished 3-for-3 with the homer and three RBIs after also driving in the game’s first run with a single in the opening inning. Dues added two RBIs, while Schilling reached base three times and scored twice.

Butler finished with 10 hits overall, but just as important was the approach surrounding them. The Aviators drew 11 walks and did not strike out a single time all game - a steady, disciplined offensive performance that kept pressure on the Indians from inning to inning.

The Aviators also stole five bases, with Ezra Scheffler collecting two of them as Butler continued to pressure the defense beyond just the batter’s box.

Meanwhile, Carson Perry (2-1) kept the game quiet on the mound.

The right-hander worked four scoreless innings, allowing only three hits while striking out three. Fellow senior Logan Smith handled the fifth inning, retiring the side to complete the combined shutout.

Defensively, Butler never gave Stebbins extra opportunities. The Aviators played error-free baseball behind their pitchers, with Carson Heis recording five defensive chances. Schilling set the tone early for Butler in the first inning, coming up firing after Stebbins’ Brayden Walters broke for second and delivered a strike to the bag to cut down the steal attempt - and squash any ideas of such behavior being tolerated.

Butler added another run in the third inning and three more in the fifth before the run rule finally ended it.

The two teams meet again Tuesday in Vandalia as Butler continues pushing through a full slate of action in the final week of the regular season.