Butler Heads To The Regional Final With 3-0 Win Over Kenton Ridge

OXFORD — One of the reasons Butler is still playing baseball in June is because the Aviators have never asked the same player to carry them twice.

Over the course of the spring, different names have surfaced at different moments. A dominant pitching performance one day. A clutch hit the next. A defensive play when one was needed most.

Tuesday afternoon at Miami University's McKie Field, Jackson Schilling happened to be the player in the spotlight.

But he wasn't alone.

Schilling collected four hits and drove in two runs, Koby Dues struck out ten over five scoreless innings of relief, Carson Heis provided two critical innings to start the afternoon, and Butler played flawless defense in a 3-0 win over Kenton Ridge that sends the Aviators back to the Division III Regional Final.

The formula wasn't new.

Only the names had changed.

The Aviators didn't waste much time creating opportunities.

After two scoreless innings, Dues helped spark Butler's first breakthrough in the bottom of the third when he ripped a triple into the gap. Moments later, Schilling delivered the game's first run with a sharp single, and before Kenton Ridge could fully regroup, Paxton Dwenger pushed another run across with a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt.

It wasn't flashy – but it didn’t need to be.

It was effective.

And in a regional semifinal, effective is usually enough.

An inning later, Butler added what proved to be a valuable insurance run.

Aidan White reached base and immediately put pressure on the Cougars. After stealing second and third, White came home when Schilling lined his second RBI hit of the afternoon into the outfield, stretching the lead to 3-0.

That was more than enough support for the combination of Heis and Dues.

Heis drew the starting assignment and navigated two scoreless innings against a Kenton Ridge lineup that entered the afternoon with confidence and momentum. The sophomore scattered three hits and kept the Cougars from gaining an early foothold before turning the ball over to Dues.

The junior righty took it from there.

Dues struck out ten over five innings, allowing just two hits while repeatedly winning key at-bats whenever Kenton Ridge threatened to build momentum.

His biggest test came in the fifth.

The Cougars loaded the bases with nobody out, creating the kind of moment that can completely alter a tournament game.

Instead, Butler answered.

Dues recorded a strikeout, and moments later the Aviators turned a rally-ending double play that brought a sudden end to Kenton Ridge's best opportunity of the afternoon.

Dewnger, to Ezra Scheffler to Davis Ketterer to an eruption from the Aviator faithful.

The threat was over.

More importantly, Butler's composure never wavered.

The Aviators finished the afternoon without committing an error. Schilling handled eight defensive chances, the infield turned the game's biggest double play, and every routine play found a glove.

By the final out, the box score reflected what Butler has become throughout the spring.

A great team that produces team wins.

Schilling supplied the hits.

White supplied the speed.

Dwenger supplied a winning piece of small ball.

Heis supplied the start.

Dues supplied the strikeouts.

And together, they supplied another win.

Just one game remains between Butler and the state tournament.

If the Aviators have proven anything over the past three months, it's that they don't particularly care who gets the spotlight.

They only care about the result.

And Tuesday's result was another step forward.