Beech Tree News Network

The Butler County Bears baseball team made it two in a row last week with another 12th District title with wins over Trinity and Grayson County.
On Monday, May 22, the Bears defeated Trinity 3-0 (https://scoreboard.12dt.com/scoreboard/khsaa/kyba17/stats_50305_34462) in first round action at Edmonson County, host site of the 2017 12th District Baseball Tournament.  Butler County didn't take the lead until late in the game.  Caleb Beasley drove in one run when he singled in the sixth inning.  The Bears had eight hits with Lake Cameron and Beasley eaching having multiple hits.  Cameron went 3-for-3 on the day.
Pitcher Gage Ward started the game for Butler County.  He threw 5 1/3 innings, allowed no runs, one hit and struck out seven.  Pitching in relief, Blake Graham earned the win.  He went 1 2/3 innings, gave up no runs, allowed one hit, struck out five and walked none. 

Grayson County defeated Edmonson County 5-3 on Monday as well.  That set up a championship game matchup between the Bears and Cougars.
Both teams - Butler and Grayson - turned in solid pitching performances in the championship game.  In earning the 2-1 win, pitcher Blake Graham scattered eight hits.  However, the Cougars captured the 1-0 lead in the first inning.  Butler County evened the score in the bottom of the second inning as Skylar Moore drove in one with a single.  The Bears claimed the lead for good with one run in the third inning and secured the 2-1 win and their second 12th District Championship in a row.  
Graham earned the win on the mound for Butler County.  He went seven innings, allowed one run on eight hits, struck out nine and walked one.  The Bears had eight hits with Graham, Moore, and Gage Ward - each having two hits apiece.  Butler County played flawlessly in the field, committing no errors.

 
In the 12th District Baseball recognition, Blake Graham was named to the All Academic Team; Gage Ward and Blake Graham were named to the All Season Team; and Skylar Moore, Trevor Parker, and Blake Graham were named to the All Tournament Team.

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With the 12th district title in hand, the Bears advanced to regional competition on Memorial Day against Breckinridge County, runner-up in the 11th District (https://scoreboard.12dt.com/scoreboard/khsaa/kyba17/stats_50305_34836).  The game proved to be a heartbreaker for Butler County as the Bears lost a late lead and fell 8-3 to the Tigers. 
Breck took an early lead in the first inning off a Butler County error.  The Tigers increased their lead to 3-0 before a single by Skylar Moore plated two runs to narrow the gap.  The Bears later tied the game at 3-3 on an RBI-single by Trevor Parker in the bottom of the fifth and that's where the scored stayed for quite a while.  Breckinridge rallied late in extra innings, scoring five runs in the top of the ninth to earn the 8-3 win.
Blake Graham started the game for Butler County.  He threw eight innings, allowed three runs, 12 hits, struck out 12, and walked none.  Gage Ward entered the game later after Graham had exhausted his pitch count.  The Bears had ten hits:  Graham, Ty Burden, and Warren Cameron each had multiple hits for the Bears.  Moore went 1-for-4 on the day with two RBIs.
The regional loss ended the Bears season, which proved to be another successful one for Butler County Baseball.  Butler County, under first-year coach Keith Butler, finished with a 17-14 overall record, an 8-5 record against regional opponents, and were 7-1 against district foes.