Aviators Sweep Bucs With 9-2 Win

VANDALIA — Give Butler an inch, and they’ll take an inning.

Give them an error, and they’ll take the whole series.

That’s what happened Wednesday night.

What should have been an out turned into three runs — a second-inning rundown that spiraled out of control — and Butler never looked back. The Aviators turned a brief opening into a 9–2 win over Xenia, finishing off the sweep and improving to 16–0 (11–0 MVL).

Koby Dues drew a walk to load the bases — and what followed was an all-out jailbreak.

Declan Scheffler broke hard off third, forcing a throw behind him. The rundown was on, but Scheffler never panicked. He danced just long enough to pull Xenia into a mistake — a high throw that cleared the third baseman’s glove. The ball skipped away, and all three runners came home. Butler had turned a routine walk into a three-run sprint, and the tone was set.

It didn’t break the scoreboard. But it broke the game open.

Butler never let go of the momentum. The Aviators scored in four of the next five innings, stole eight bases, and forced Xenia to throw over 130 pitches on the night. They drew eight walks and routinely stretched singles into scoring threats with their typical aggressive baserunning and heads-up play.

Hunter Richardson led from the leadoff spot, going 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and two stolen bases. Jackson Schilling reached base three times and scored twice. Mason Reckner added an RBI and swiped a bag. Dues drove in one and scored another — and Scheffler, fittingly, finished with a pair of steals and a run scored after sparking the second-inning chaos.

Will Kitchen (2–0) turned in another solid outing out of the bullpen, throwing five innings and allowing just two hits and one unearned run. He struck out two and didn’t issue a walk — keeping the pace steady while the offense built the lead.

Tate Richardson came on in the seventh and closed the door with three strikeouts on just 14 pitches.

Davis Ketterer made the start, working the first inning and giving up one run on three hits.

Butler returns to action Friday, hosting Piqua at 5:00 p.m.