Baseball Salvages Series at Colby to Close Out Regular Season

COLBY, Kan. – In the final games of the 2025 regular season on Saturday, Butler baseball got a road split with the Colby Trojans at Young Memorial Field.

The Grizzlies end the regular season 25-26 overall, 16-16 in league play. They dropped game one 6-4 to the Trojans (30-25, 17-15) in seven innings and then turned around and won the second game 11-3 in nine innings. The Trojans won the series 3-1 after sweeping the Grizzlies in El Dorado on Thursday.

Next up for Butler are the Region 6 Playoffs. Butler has clinched the five seed in the KJCCC West which means they will travel to the four seed in the KJCCC East, Coffeyville, for a best of three series Wednesday-Friday with the winner advancing to Salina at Dean Evans Stadium from May 13-17 in an eight-team double elimination tournament. The winner gets an automatic bid to the NJCAA Division 1 World Series.

Game one saw the Grizzlies jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning as Cooper Rasmussen stroked a two-run double to right field and Breck Romero placed an RBI single in left field. Colby got on the board in the third with a lone run to make it 3-1. In the fifth inning, the Trojans took a 6-3 lead as they plated five runs with a bases clearing double from Charlie Langford and two sacrifice flies.

Butler was only able to push one more run across, Amarion Sailer hit a two out RBI double in the top of the seventh to score Jackson Ellison making it 6-4 but a runner caught stealing two batters later ended the game. The Grizzlies plated runs in the opening and final frames but were scoreless from the second through sixth. Dayton Pelfrey (L, 0-3) was tagged with the loss throwing 4.0 innings allowing all six runs on four hits, striking out two and walking one. Bradyn McClure threw 2.0 innings of perfect baseball as he did not allow a run, hit or walk, striking out two.

Cooper Rasmussen drove in four runs and hit his 16th home run of the season as Butler snagged an 11-3 win in game two.

BSB at Colby | E1@Buco_Baseball takes an early 2-0 lead after Cooper Rasmussen's 2 run home run!#RoarGrizz�� pic.twitter.com/IDabaf8WgD

— Butler Grizzlies (@ButlerGrizzlies) May 3, 2025

Kage Ralstin (W, 1-1) got the start and struck out a career-high eight while walking none, allowing no earned runs in 5.0 innings for Butler. Connor Robinson earned his first save of the season throwing the final 4.0 innings allowing a lone run on five hits, striking out four and walking one.

For a second consecutive game Butler plated multiple runs in the first inning, scoring two this time off Rasmussen's two run home run. They built a 5-0 lead in the third when Rasmussen drove in another on a single, Holden Lough had an RBI fielder's choice and Sailer scored on a passed ball. Colby used two runs in the fourth to make it a 6-2 game but Butler scored five more runs across the fifth and sixth to put it away.

TOP PERFORMERS GAME 1:

Jackson Ellison (Wichita, KS): 2-4, 2 R, 2B

Amarion Sailer (Rapid City, SD): 2-4, RBI, 2B

Cooper Rasmussen (Temecula, CA): 2-4, 2 RBI, R, 2B

Bradyn McClure (Wichita, KS): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's

TOP PERFORMERS GAME 2:

Cooper Rasmussen (Temecula, CA): 3-5, 4 RBI, R, HR

Jackson Ellison (Wichita, KS): 3-5, 3 R

Amarion Sailer (Rapid City, SD): 2-5, 2 R

Brady Todd (Brighton, CO): 2-5, 2 RBI, R, 2B

Kage Ralstin (Elkhart, KS): (W, 1-1), 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 8 K's, 0 BB

Connor Robinson (Plano, TX): Save, 4.0 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 4 K's, 1 BB