Aviators Take Two On Tuesday, With 11-6 Win Over Liverpool

MYRTLE BEACH, SC — By now, the routine has settled in.

Third game in two days. Same fields. Same purpose.

And Tuesday afternoon, the Aviators looked like a prototypical Butler team—one accustomed to doing things the right way.

In the second game of a doubleheader at The Ripken Experience, Butler shook off an early deficit and methodically wore down Liverpool, pulling away for an 11–5 win behind a six-run fourth inning that felt less like a surge and more like a statement.

They didn’t panic when it tilted early.

They trusted the process. And they trusted one another.

Butler struck first in the opening inning when Jack Egbert drove a ball to center for a triple, and Paxton Dwenger followed with a line-drive single down the right-field line. Two runs in quick, clean fashion—the kind of inning that comes from staying within yourself and letting the game come to you.

Liverpool answered in the second with a jolt of its own. A double, a two-run homer to center, and a triple pushed them in front 5–2, and for a brief stretch, the game had that uneasy feel of one that could drift in a hurry.

But the Aviators never let it get there.

The fourth inning was less about fireworks and more about pressure—the kind that builds pitch by pitch, at-bat by at-bat, until there’s nowhere left for the opponent to breathe.

Aidan White opened it with a two-run single. Jackson Schilling followed with a base hit. Egbert came through again with a double. Gavin Leonard worked a disciplined walk. Even a fielder’s choice off the bat of Koby Dues brought another run home.

Six runs.

No wasted swings. No hurried at-bats. Just a lineup passing the baton and forcing the issue without trying to do too much.

By the time the inning closed, Butler had flipped the game on its head—and more importantly, settled into it.

The offense never really let up. Fifteen hits. Six walks. Four stolen bases. But more than the numbers, it was the way they came—spread out, connected, and constant.

White set the tone, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a pair of RBIs, a double and a triple. Egbert drove in three and continued to impact the game in multiple spots. Dwenger quietly collected three hits while managing things behind the plate. Dues and Schilling added multiple-hit efforts, and Leonard’s three walks kept innings alive long enough for everything else to follow.

On the mound, Butler needed someone to steady things after early traffic.

Freshman Liam Edwards (1-0) gave them exactly that.

The right-hander entered in relief and turned the game into something far more manageable, working 5 1/3 innings of one-hit baseball. No runs. One walk. Five strikeouts. He worked ahead, trusted his stuff, and let the defense play behind him.

And when it came time to finish it, the defense answered.

In the final inning, with Liverpool still trying to extend the game, two balls were hit sharply into the hole at shortstop. Both times, Koby Dues ranged deep, gathered cleanly, and fired across the diamond. Both times, first baseman Tate Richardson stretched and finished the outs.

Those aren’t routine plays.

Those are finishing plays.

The kind that show up late, when a team decides it’s not letting anything slip.

It was the second win of the day for the Aviators—and maybe the most complete of the trip so far. They hit with purpose, pitched with control, and defended the game the way it’s supposed to be defended.

There’s a nuance to baseball when it’s played like that.

Butler found it Tuesday.

The Aviators (3-0) wrap up their Myrtle Beach trip Thursday against Batavia. First pitch is set for 4:00 pm ET.