Tipp Hits Butler With Deja Vu

TIPP CITY — The dangerous thing about rivalry games is that momentum rarely leaves quietly.

It shifts fast. Loud. Sometimes all at once.

And Wednesday night, Butler learned again how quickly a game against Tippecanoe can slip from comfortable to chasing.

The Aviators stormed out to an early five-run advantage and looked firmly in command midway through the game before the Red Devils answered with another comeback surge, rallying past Butler for an 8-6 win in a pivotal Miami Valley League showdown.

For three innings, Butler controlled nearly everything.

The Aviators pressured Tippecanoe immediately in the first.

Koby Dues reached to begin the night, Aidan White followed with a single, and Jackson Schilling lined another hit to quickly load the bases. Butler scratched across two runs in the inning - one coming on a Paxton Dwenger fielder’s choice - and forced Tippecanoe to play from behind almost immediately.

The pressure never really stopped early on.

White continued creating problems with his speed and contact at the top of the lineup, while Schilling and Dwenger consistently delivered productive at-bats behind him.

In the third inning, Butler added two more runs when Schilling brought home a run with a groundout before Dwenger lined an RBI single to left, stretching the lead to 4-0.

An inning later, Schilling added a sacrifice fly to push the margin to 5-3 after Tippecanoe finally answered with three runs of its own in the bottom of the third.

At that point, Butler still had the game exactly where it wanted it.

Then came the bottom of the fourth.

Tippecanoe stacked together five hits in the inning and completely flipped the rhythm of the night. Ethan Harney and Brady Liskey sparked the rally in the middle of the order, with Liskey delivering a key two-run single that pushed the Red Devils in front for good.

And just like that, cushion was gone.

Butler continued to battle offensively the rest of the night, collecting 10 hits overall.

White finished with two hits and two runs scored. Schilling added two hits and two RBIs.

Dwenger also drove in two while collecting a pair of hits, and Carson Heis chipped in two hits of his own.

Defensively, Butler played clean baseball without committing an error.

But Tippecanoe answered with timely hitting nearly every time it mattered most.

Harney finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the Red Devils, while Liskey also collected three hits as Tippecanoe totaled 11 hits on the night.

Tate Richardson got the start for Butler and 3 2/3 innings, giving way to Jackson Schilling and Logan Smith who worked the final innings in relief.

And while the final score will sting - especially after another early lead slipped away against the Red Devils - the schedule offers Butler little time to linger on it.

The Aviators return home Thursday to face Greenville as the regular season moves into the homestretch.