BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Lake Butler Middle School’s baseball team built a 7-0 lead after two innings and defeated Bradford 11-4 to win the Suwannee Middle Athletic Conference championship on April 25 in Lake Butler.
It was the third championship in four years for the Tigers, who were making their ninth straight appearance in the title game.
“We expect it,” Head Coach Aaron Tetstone said. “We tell them every year that we expect to be here.”
The players did their part as the Tigers wrapped up a 15-2-2 season.
“A great group of kids,” Tetstone said. “Easy to coach. The desire to play and to get better — they brought that every single day. They just played the game the right way.”
Lake Butler got two RBI each from Westyn Miller, Ridge Robinson, Fisher Thomassen and Weston Thompson, while pitchers Miller and Thomassen combined to allow just two hits.
The Tigers, who were the tournament’s number-one seed, got off to a fast start. Tristan George and Kiptyn Shuler led off the bottom of the first with walks. Miller and Thomassen then hit back-to-back doubles, with two runs scoring on Miller’s hit, while Miller scored on Thomassen’s hit. Thompson hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the fourth run.
Lake Butler loaded the bases when Huebner singled, Brody Stephens reached on a dropped third strike and Emery Muse walked. George came up to bat again, drawing a walk to force a run in for a 5-0 lead.
The Tigers added to their lead in the second. Miller was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a balk. He scored when the Tornadoes committed an error on a ground ball hit by Thomassen. Thompson then singled, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. He would score on another wild pitch as Lake Butler went up 7-0.
Second seed Bradford (4-7-1) cut the Tigers’ lead to three in the third. Julian Rhoden hit a leadoff single, followed by Braxton Mitchell drawing a walk. Kyler Hall was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Rhoden scored on a balk before Damarion “Bug” Dodd hit an RBI single. Gabe Rhoden was hit by a pitch to load the bases again. With two outs, Hall and Dodd both scored on an error.
Lake Butler responded with two runs each in the fifth and sixth innings, while Thomassen pitched a no-hit shutout over the final four innings, walking none and striking out four.
“We always tell them, ‘Be mentally tough.’ They showed that tonight,” Tetstone said of his players.
Miller led off the bottom of the fourth with a single. He stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before Thompson walked. Huebner also walked to load the bases and set the stage for Robinson’s two-run single to put the Tigers up 9-4.
With two outs and no one on in the fifth, Miller, who went 3 for 3, singled and scored on a Thomassen double. Thompson then hit an RBI single to end the scoring.
Thomassen and Thompson went 2 for 3 and 2 for 4, respectively.
Miller, who pitched the first three innings, allowed four runs (two earned), two hits and one walk, while striking out three.
Bradford pitchers Hall, Kaedan Parks and Gabe Rhoden combined to strike out 12 batters, with Rhoden fanning two of the three batters he faced in his one inning of work in the sixth.
