On a 2-2 pitch from Matthew Frevert, Butler bashed a towering walk-off grand slam beyond the left-field wall, catapulting Salem to a 7-6 victory over Lynchburg on Monday afternoon at Salem Memorial Ballpark.
Butlers second homer of the day and second grand shot of the season snapped Salems six-game losing streak overall and quenched the 12-game home losing skid at LewisGale Field.
After not going deep in the first 29 years of May, Butlers sixth and seventh jacks of the season helped the Sox overcame a couple of three-run deficits to go back above .500 at 25-24. The undrafted catcher, who DHd on Monday, finished with his second seven RBI game of the season, both having occurred against the Hillcats.
The inaugural walk-off hit of Butlers career came after the Hillcats had scored 3 times with two outs in the top of the ninth off Salem reliever Kendal Volz, breaking a 3-3 tie to give Lynchburg a 6-3 advantage. Entering with the score knotted at three, Volz struck out the beginning two men he faced before surrendering four straight two-out hits to Andrelton Simmons, Phil Gosselin, Adam Milligan, and Joey Terdoslavich. Milligans single put the Hillcats up 4-3, while Terdoslavich banged his third double of the halt to cause it 6-3.
All that came following Salems first rally, as the Sox plated two in the 6th and one more in the eighth after trailing 3-0 through five. Butler launched a two-run bomb off Chris Masters to get the Red Sox on the board, then crushed an RBI double in the 8th to tie the stake at three. Following Butlers double, the Red Sox had men at 2nd and thirdly with nobody out, but could not score again to fill the lead, a lost opportunity that appeared like it would doom Salem when Lynchburg scored three in the ninth.
But after Peter Hissey popped up, four straight Red Sox reached and scored. Wilfred Pichardo doubled off the fence to leave the ninth-inning spark, and Kolbrin Vitek and Reynaldo Rodriguez both walked to burden the bases with one away. Butler fouled off the low 2-2 offering and then obliterated the next pitch from Frevert, igniting a raucous celebration at home plate. Running down the third-base line, Butler tossed his helmet and dove into the mob of teammates surrounding the dish.
Salem barely prevailed despite receiving a season-high 11 walks from Hillcat pitchers. Zero of the first nine men who walked came across to score, but Vitek and Rodriguez drew free passes immediately before Butlers dinger in the ninth. The Hillcats issued multiple walks in 4 different innings.
The Red Sox were without a hit until Rodriguez doubled in the sixth, which immediately preceded Butlers first round-tripper of the day. Two frames later, Vitek singles, moved to s on a walk to Rodriguez, and scored on Butlers double that even the game.
With the exclusion of two walks in the 1st and 3 in the fifth, Salem did little against Masters in the first five innings, stranding all five men as the Hillcats took a 3-0 lead. Salem starter Drake Britton also struggled with command, walking five in 4 and two-thirds, surrendering a match in the moment and one more in the fifth. But Tom Ebert entered from the Salem pen and stabilized things, tossing three and a third scoreless innings to support the Sox within striking distance. Volz gave up three runs in the top of the ninth, but still earned his second victory of the season, improving to 2-2 thanks to Butlers heroics.
Butler went 3-4 with seven RBI, while the repose of the Red Sox went 3-26. In the end, Salem emerged on top, winning its first one-run game since May 7, which also was the close time the Red Sox had won at LewisGale Field. Salem had dropped eight straight one-run contests before Mondays Memorial Day magic.
Salem will appear to make on Mondays dramatic triumph on Tuesday night at 7:05 in game two of the four-day, two-city series. Pete Ruiz will get the first for the host Red Sox, while Matt Crim will pass for the visiting Hillcats.
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