YUMA, Ariz. - Three Rivers' second-round game couldn't have started any better.
But second-seeded Butler put up more runs than any team in 15 games against the Raiders and won 12-4 on Wednesday in Yuma, Ariz. It was Butler's 47th consecutive win and ended Three Rivers' 14-game winning streak.
"I thought we eased up a little bit about halfway through and just didn't compete at the end," Three Rivers coach Jeff Null said.
Jenny Morey kicked things off with a leadoff single for the Raiders, and Molly Spangler ripped a double down the left-foul line. Morey scored easily, and the throw home went to the backstop, allowing Spangler to round the bases on the error.
Morey nearly made a highlight-reel catch in the bottom of the fifth inning. Running to deep center, she leaped for a long fly ball but couldn't bring it in and tumbled over the temporary barrier on the baseball fields.
Makale Floyd and the Raider defense shut down Butler in the bottom of the frame, but the Grizzlies took advantage of defensive miscues in the second inning for six runs.
"We made a lot of errors. We were in our heads the entire time," Three Rivers left field Blair Quarles said. "Everybody got a little bit down. People in the dugout were doing great. They were trying to keep everybody up. But it was just hard to stay in the game."
Butler scored its first run on an infield grounder that went from potential double-play ball to throwing error.
Myah Johnson hit a shallow fly ball to left. Blair Quarles charged in and got the front tip of her glove on the ball but couldn't haul it in as Butler tied the game.
Leadoff hitter Madi Young, who has yet to strike out this season, hit a high bouncing ball just over Spangler's head as the infield played in, and Butler took the lead.
The Grizzlies added another run on a groundout, and Ari Cordova hit a 2-run bloop single to center.
The Raiders got a run in the third, and Null swapped Kindi Puckett for Floyd in the fourth with a runner on first and nobody out.
Butler tacked on two runs with a pair of RBI groundouts as pitcher Makayla Bryant warmed up.
With runners on the corners, Lauren Joyner got a grounder up the middle to score Morey, but the Raiders stranded two in scoring position after a strikeout.
The Grizzlies added four in the fifth to end the game early, Emily Adler singling to right to end the game.
"They were making contact with the ball, and we just couldn't make plays," Quarles said.
Morey and Brianna Everett each had two of three Rivers' eight hits, and Morey scored three times and drew one of two walks.
Floyd (10-2) allowed six hits and two walks with a strikeout over three innings with six earned runs. She had not allowed more than one run in her previous six starts.
Kindi Puckett pitched the fourth and allowed three hits and a walk. Two of the four runs against her were earned. Bryant allowed four hits in the fifth.
Three Rivers committed three errors, giving the Raiders eight in two games at the national tournament.
The top four batters in Butler's lineup all had two hits.
Young was 2 for 2 with two runs, an RBI and two walks. Adlwer had three RBIs.
Maddie Redman (26-0) allowed six hits and no walks with two strikeouts over three innings. Izzy Erickson pitched the final two innings and allowed two hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
Scott Borkgren - Daily American Republic