Aviators Take Down Elks 8-5

CENTERVILLE — There are easier ways to close a regular season than making the trip to Centerville (22-5) on a Sunday morning, staring into one of the area’s premier Division I programs on its own field.

But the Aviators didn’t come looking for easy.

They came looking for one more measuring stick.

And before the postseason even begins, Butler (22-5) may have found exactly what it wanted.

Behind three hits and five total bases from Koby Dues, timely offense throughout the lineup, and just enough pitching to survive a late Centerville push, Butler walked out of Elks territory Sunday with an 8-5 win in its regular season finale - another addition to a growing collection of wins that have tested this team against nearly every kind of environment imaginable.

The setting fit the occasion. The tradition rich Elks. A spectacular field. Late-May tension already hanging in the air. The kind of game that feels more like a district final than a regular-season finale.

And for the first two innings, Butler looked every bit like a team already operating in tournament mode.

After a scoreless first, the Aviators erupted for four runs in the second inning. Dues started it with a sharp single to the left side, Jackson Schilling followed with a base hit to center, and Butler kept forcing the issue from there. Paxton Dwenger drew a walk. Mason Woods drew another. Runs crossed. Traffic never stopped.

By the time the inning finally ended, Butler had a 4-0 lead and Centerville was already chasing the game.

An inning later, the Aviators added on again.

Schilling lined another RBI single in the third to stretch the lead to 5-0, continuing a huge afternoon for the Butler catcher, who finished with three hits and two RBIs. Alongside Dues at the top of the order, the two were relentless. Six combined hits. Five RBIs. Constant pressure.

“We swung the bats pretty well on the day,” said Butler head coach Trent Dues. “We also played some good defense, which is what we have to do to be effective.”

And when the Elks finally began to answer in the middle innings, Dues delivered the swing that changed the temperature of the game again.

Leading 6-5 in the fifth, the Butler shortstop turned on a pitch and drove it over the left field fence for a two-run homer - a no-doubt shot that gave the Aviators breathing room once again at 8-5.

It capped a day where Dues did just about everything.

Three hits. Three RBIs. A home run. A double. A save.

Just another afternoon from one of the state’s most complete players.

Butler finished with 11 hits overall, with Carson Heis adding two hits of his own while Dwenger and Jack Egbert each helped extend innings with multiple walks. The Aviators also showed patience throughout the afternoon, drawing eight walks against Centerville pitching.

And while the offense carried the early innings, Butler needed nearly every arm available to finish it.

Carson Heis opened the game with two scoreless innings and earned the win, allowing just two hits while striking out two. But Centerville didn’t go quietly. The Elks answered with two runs in the third and three more in the fourth, trimming Butler’s early five-run cushion down to a single run and turning the game into the kind of heavyweight exchange both teams expected from the start.

That’s when Butler’s bullpen stabilized things.

“We had a lot of pitchers get in to stay sharp for the upcoming tournament week,” said Dues.

Carson Perry delivered perhaps the game’s quietest - and biggest - performance, throwing two scoreless innings in relief while allowing just one hit. Schilling recorded two key outs late before Dues took the ball for the seventh and slammed the door shut with a clean inning to earn the save.

Centerville finished with nine hits, getting two apiece from Ryan Muchmore, Lucas Clark, and Soren Vitas, while Luke Maciejewski drove in two runs.

But Butler answered every push.

Every time Centerville brought tension, the Aviators found another response.

“That was a nice team win today,” Dues added.

And maybe that’s what mattered most Sunday.

Not just the win itself.

But the way they won it.

Against perennial power on the road. With momentum swings. With pressure innings. With a survive and advance mentality before it officially matters.

Butler looked exactly like a team that believes its season is far from over - and that’s a great place to be heading into the tournament.