Butler, Williams Combine to Blank Roswell, 6-0
Ben Butler and Jacob Williams combined to allow just one hit over six innings as the Salina Stockade shutout the Roswell Invaders, 6-0. Each pitcher tossed three frames in the six-inning affair. Williams earned the victory, striking out the first six batters he faced. The Stockade took advantage of eight walks and two errors to produce six-runs on only six-hits.
Butler struck out the first batter of the game, then walked the bases loaded. He settled down, however, getting Daniel Arroyo to hit a shallow fly ball to right field for the second out, then getting Mark Churman to ground back to the mound to end the threat.
That proved to be huge as Salina took the lead in the bottom of the first. Jordan Dicks walked to start the inning, then stole second and moved to third when the throw by the catcher sailed into centerfield. Elvin Jorge’s next pitch was in the dirt, allowing Dicks to come home on the wild pitch to give the Stockade a 1-0 lead.
Butler breezed through the top of the second and his team gave him some cushion, scoring two runs in the bottom of the frame. Hudson Bilodeau led off with a single and moved to third when Jose Tejeda doubled two batters later. Butler then helped himself, doubling to the wall to score both runners to give the Stockade a 3-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the third, the lead became four. Lance Myers led off with a walk, moved to second on a stolen base and scored on a single by Jared Gay.
After the rocky first, Butler was in complete control. He retired eight straight batters, but the run came to an end when Ausar Rankin singled to start the fourth. A walk to Daniel Arroyo and a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position and no one out. That would be it for Butler. He had allowed just one-hit but walked four while striking out five.
Williams came on and was absolutely devastating, striking out Churman, Mike Sanders, and Taichi Nakamura to strand both runners. In the fifth, he returned to the hill, striking out the side once again.
In the bottom of the fifth, Salina added another run. Brian Dansereau singled and Myers drew a walk to start the frame. Both runners moved up on a double steal before Bilodeau walked with one down. With the bases loaded, Eddie Grimaldo walked to drive home Dansereau, but Salina would leave the bases loaded.
In the sixth, the Invaders would put two on with one down when Williams hit two of the first three batters he faced. However, he got out of the frame when he got Churman to hit into a double-play.
The Stockade added one more run before the game was called. A walk to Dicks started the inning. Strong was hit by a pitch to put two on. With Dansereau at the plate, Jonathan Osario’s pitch was in the dirt but blocked by Keaven Diaz. Dicks headed for third. Diaz tried to throw him out, but his throw went wide and down the line. That allowed Dicks to score to make it 6-0, which would be the final. Dicks scored two runs in the contest.
By Robert Pannier