Lebanon Hangs On For 12-9 Win

VANDALIA - They never got to breathe.

That was the difference.

From the first inning on, Butler was working uphill Thursday night — not in one overwhelming moment, but in a steady climb that never quite leveled off in a 12-9 final scrimmage loss to Lebanon.

And sometimes, that’s the hardest kind of game to win.

Lebanon set the tone before Butler ever settled in.

Three runs in the first. Three more in the second. And by the time the third inning closed, the Aviators were staring at a seven-run gap that hadn’t come from a single mistake, but from an opponent that simply kept applying pressure.

A hit here. A walk there. Another ball in play that forced movement.

Nothing dramatic.

Just constant.

To Butler’s credit, they didn’t let it get away from them.

They answered in pieces.

Koby Dues drove in three runs, continuing to be a steady presence in the lineup. Jackson Schilling was as consistent as it gets — 3-for-3, never giving away an at-bat, keeping innings from ending quietly.

And Jack Egbert gave Butler a jolt in the sixth, turning on a pitch and sending it out for a solo home run — a swing that briefly tightened the game and reminded everyone it wasn’t finished yet.

It just never fully flipped.

That’s what stands out.

Every time Butler edged closer, Lebanon had something waiting — another hit, another run, just enough to push the margin back out and keep Butler from ever settling into control.

The Aviators collected 11 hits of their own. They had traffic. They had chances.

They just didn’t have a clean inning where everything came together at once.

On the mound, it was a night of adjustments.

Lucas Miller’s first inning never quite slowed down. Davis Ketterer, Xavier Hollander, Dues, and Carson Heis each took turns trying to stabilize things, and at times they did.

But it was just one of those nights.

And that’s the lesson in this one.

Not effort. Not fight. Those were there.

Now it shifts.

Myrtle Beach is next. Games that count. A clean start, whether the last one felt finished or not.

But Thursday left them with something useful — a reminder of how thin the margin gets when you spend a night chasing it.

And how important it is to grab control before the game decides otherwise.