Old Foes Reunite
Milwaukee and Butler faced their 93rd game in a three-game home opener series for the Panthers. This matchup marks the first meeting since Butler’s departure from the Horizon League to join the Big East in 2012. The Panthers held a five-game winning streak against Butler up to this point. 4/5 of the previous games resulted in Milwaukee scoring double-digit runs.
Butler Strikes First
At the top of the 1st inning, Butler’s Mat Rhoades made it to first base due to an error from Sophomore Tate Schmidt. Gavin Theis would strike out Charlie Schebler, while Rhoades would have an unearned run to give the Bulldogs the lead 1-0 to close out their start on offense.
In the bottom of the first, Schmidt earned a walk to first base after four balls from Brock Buckley. Dominic Kibler would single in the middle to move to first base as Schmidt would run the distance to third. However, Charlie Marion would ground out to Buckey, ending the inning scoreless.
In the top of the 2nd inning, Gavin Danny was walked, then stole second base after a pitch thrown by Theis. Easton Moore hit a single to first base that sent Danny to third base. During a bunt from Logan Crock, Theis dived the ball to send Crock back to the dugout. Rhoades grounded out to second base for the third out.
Senior Joey Spencer singled to the far left to secure first base for the Panthers. Bucky would make an error on the mound to allow John Hadley VI to get first base with Spencer running to second. However, Butler would make up for the error and end the inning in a double play from 2B to 1B to get Hadley out.
Schmidt would make another error with a misthrow to allow Schebler to advance to first base. Theis walked Gavin Gilmore after hitting his helmet, but Schmidt corrected his previous error and got Danny Gavin out to end the top of the 3rd inning. The Panthers could not make a response as they went out swiftly without making a base, leaving Milwaukee still behind 1-0.
In the beginning of the 4th inning, Schmidt failed to make a catch in the air as Moore ran to first base. Theis made another catch after Crock grounded out, but Moore was able to advance to second. Rhoades would fly out to the right fielder, ending the top of the inning for the Bulldogs.
For Milwaukee, Kibler started with a single to move to first base. Afterwards, Spence struck the ball towards the middle, allowing him to sprint towards first base and Kibler to second. But Hadley struck out, leaving the Panthers without a run as the game progressed, midway through the first game of the doubleheader in a tight 1-0 deficit.
Bullying Hits in the Air
Will White slammed a single deep into the outer left field to advance to first. That was followed by a Schebler groundout to second base, but a fielder’s choice got him out while White advanced to second. During a wild pitch from Theis, White advanced to third. This would allow him to make a run to home plate after Gilmore singled to right field. Tallying the score to 2-0 for Butler. Theis failed to strike out Gavin, resulting in a walk, but Aiden Fishnick stepped in on the mound and struck out Jack Zeller to end the inning.
Milwaukee followed it up with another inning ending with no runs to the plate, helping give Buckely his seventh strikeout of the game.
Fishnick’s pitch to Rhoades allowed him to slam a home run to right field, allowing him and Crock to run up the score 4-0. White would ground out to second base up the middle, allowing the Panthers to end the top of the 6th inning.
Ground ball to left field from Dylan O’Connell allowed him to hit first base to start for Milwaukee. Then, O’Connell would steal second base as White was offside from the plate during his catch. Afterwards, Buckley threw a wild pitch behind the catcher; O’Connell advanced to third, marking the second time for the Panthers to be at third base in the game. The Hometown Kid, Charlie Marion, would fly it out to right field to give Milwaukee its first run from O’Connell. However, Bradyn Horn could not continue the offense and struck out.
In the top of the 7th inning, Gilmore would eventually get to third base via a steal. Then Gavin would walk afterwards. He would also steal second base. This setup for Zeller to hit a single at center field to get two runs from Gavin and Gilmore, increasing the lead to 6-1. Zeller would also advance to second due to a wild pitch from Fishnick. He also advanced to third after a flyout from Moore. Then, Crock grounded to second base to allow Milwaukee to end the inning.
Despite Holmes scoring a run after a deep hit towards right field, Milwaukee would fail to respond in the bottom of the 7th inning. Butler would snap Milwaukee’s five-game win streak in their rivalry in a 6-2 win in the opening series. The Panthers struggled in the late innings as their early errors from Schmidt and the home runs given up by Fishnick contributed to the loss.