Have Mercy. Butler Clobbers Piqua 28-0

PIQUA — Twenty-eight runs. Nineteen hits. Eight stolen bases. Four innings.

The mercy rule at Piqua on Monday wasn't a formality - it was a verdict.

The Aviators (17-2, 12-1) dismantled the Indians so early that the only real drama was watching the margin grow. By the time Koby Dues doubled home two more runs in a 16-run third inning, the question wasn't whether Butler would win. It was whether Piqua could find the one hit that would keep the shutout from also being a perfect game for the Butler pitching staff.

They found one. Andon Laughman singled in the second inning. That was it.

Dues was the headliner, going 3-for-3 with a walk, two doubles and a single - a methodical kind of damage, the kind a shortstop inflicts when he's locked in from the jump. He singled to score one in the second, doubled to score two, doubled again in the third for two more. Five RBIs. Three stolen bases. The whole package.

But the third inning is where this game became something else entirely.

Sixteen runs. Jack Egbert doubled. Aidan White singled. Tate Richardson singled. Paxton Dwenger took a hit-by-pitch that drove in a run. (The 14th HBP this season for the senior that isn’t afraid to wear one for the purple and gold) Jackson Schilling drew a walk that scored one. Egbert doubled again - his second of the inning. Carson Heis singled. Cooper Rife singled. Jayden Rivas singled, plating two. Dues doubled again. Ezra Scheffler singled home two more. By the time it was over, Piqua had burned through multiple arms and Butler had lapped the mercy rule twice over.

Heis might have been the day's most quietly devastating force - four hits in five at-bats, a stolen base, and an inning of relief work where he struck out the side on eleven pitches.

Davis Ketterer (6-0) started and earned the win, going two clean innings with two strikeouts and one hit allowed. Logan Smith followed with a crisp inning of his own.

Butler didn't commit an error. They worked eight walks. They ran at will.

The Aviators now lock in for an important series against rival Tippecanoe. Game One will be Wednesday evening at Butler, with a 6:00 pm start. Game Two will be Friday at 7:30, under the lights at Wright State’s Nischwitz Stadium for the Reds Skyline Chilli Classic.