Butler wins 16-6, advances in district tourney
BUTLER TWP — In a tournament that’s seen runs scored in bunches, Butler’s lineup feels right at home.
In Friday’s elimination game, the 10U Little League All-Star squad wasted no time putting Knox/Rimersburg in a hole. Four runs in the first inning gave Butler a lead it never surrendered in a 16-6 win in four innings in a District 25 loser’s bracket final at the Meridian Fields.
The victors tallied 12 hits and posted a 7-run fourth frame that led to the game being shortened via the mercy rule.
“We beat Clarion, 11-2, in our first game, but didn’t score a run until the fourth inning,” said Butler coach Kevin Knapik. “Since then, our bats have come alive. I’ve been coaching these kids for three years and when we’re hitting, we’re tough to beat.”
The victory lands Butler in a 6 p.m. game Saturday in Franklin, which earned the king seat in the double-elimination tournament. If Butler wins that contest, the two teams will meet at 6 p.m. Sunday in Meridian with the championship on the line.
Friday’s game gave Butler a chance to avenge an 11-9 loss to Knox/Rimersburg in a second-round meeting on Monday.
“The game was stopped after four innings due to rain,” said Knapik. “We thought the game should have resumed at some point, but Little League officials decided to go with that as the final score. We wanted another chance at them.”
Henry Manning’s one-out double in the top of the first inning began a string of four straight hits off Butler bats. Carter Knapik singled, Abram Richardson tripled and Grady Bohin singled. The flurry put Butler up 3-0 and three batters later, Bentley Mottern plated another run with a base hit.
“We were up 11-0 in that first game against them,” said Knox/Rimersburg coach Dustin Kifer. “Then they scored nine runs in the fourth inning, so we knew the type of bats they have. They have balanced hitting and are aggressive on the bases ... We knew it would be a battle for us today.”
Both starting pitchers left Friday’s game early. Knox/Rimersburg’s Jake Johnston was pulled after 1.2 innings. He allowed nine runs on eight hits, walking three with no strikeouts.
Carter Knapik was relieved by Manning with two outs in the bottom of the first. The former was on the verge of getting out of the inning after allowing just one run, but an error led to two more runs crossing the plate, cutting Butler’s lead to 4-3.
Butler responded with a 5-run second frame, which included a two-run single from Mottern.
Manning faced the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the second after walks to Ryder Walker and Landen Hassler and an infield single from Owen Jack. Knox/Rimersburg went on to score three runs in the inning despite not getting another hit. One tally came on Colton Knisley’s groundout, one scored on a wild pitch and another on an error. But over the final two innings, Manning dominated, registering five of his seven strikeouts.
“His dad is a baseball guy and Henry’s been taught well,” Kevin Knapik said. “He doesn’t get rattled and he saved us today.”
At the plate, Manning singled, doubled and tripled. Collecting two hits for Butler were Richardson, Bohin and Mottern.
Knisley had two of the five hits for Knox/Rimersburg.
Butler 450 7xx — 16 12 3
Knox/Rimersburg 330 0xx — 6 5 3
W: Henry Manning 3.1 IP (7K, 2BB). L: Jake Johnston 1.2 IP (0K, 4BB)
Butler: JD Franklin 1B 2R, Henry Manning 1B 2B 3B R 3RBI, Carter Knapik 1B 2R RBI, Abram Richardson 1B 3B 3R RBI, Grady Bohin 2-1B 2R RBI, Graham Hohn 1B 3R, Bentley Mottern 2-1B R 3RBI
Knox/Rimersburg: Owen Jack 1B R, Landen Hassler 1B 2R, Colton Knisley 2-1B R 2RBI, Olivia Kifer 1B
