Ava Butler hit a walk-off grand slam Saturday afternoon as Grand Oaks took a 10-8 win over Ridge Point in extra innings to capture the Space City Classic championship in League City.
Grand Oaks (6-0) won twice each day of the tournament for an undefeated start to the season. In order to reach the championship, the Grizzlies defeated Plano East 8-0 earlier on Saturday.
Butler’s bottom of the eighth homer came as the game was expedited with bases loaded and one out started each inning after the game surpassed the time limit.
Ridge Point had taken an 8-6 lead in the top half of the inning.
Grand Oaks rallied from 6-0 down to tie the game in the fifth inning. Butler made it 6-1 in the fourth on an RBI fielder’s choice.
Ella Brown hit a two-run single in the fifth to cut the deficit in half. Brown later scored on a stolen base, Butler made it 6-5 on an RBI double and Larissa Taveres tied with a double to score Butler.
Butler finished with six RBIs. Taveres was 3-for-4.
In relief, Kat Mack pitched the final 4⅔ innings where she allowed one earned run on five hits.
Earlier against Plano East, Kaitlynn Torres hit a pair of homers while Mayce Burkett also went yard. They both had three RBIs. Kiley Milligan had an RBI double.
Victoria Hernandez went all seven innings for the shutout. She struck out three and allowed five hits.
Grand Oaks’ District 13-6A opener scheduled for Tuesday has already been moved to Monday 6:15 p.m. due to weather concerns. The Grizzlies host The Woodlands.
Friday’s games
Have yourself a day, Ava Butler, Kiley Milligan and Kaitlynn Torres.
Butler was 6-for-7 from the plate during the second day of the tournament and Milligan went yard three times in the second game as Grand Oaks defeated Clear Falls 4-3 and Brandeis 13-2 in four innings.
Milligan totaled five RBIs on her three homers against the Broncos while teammate Torres went deep twice. Butler also hit a solo homer against Brandeis.
Torres totaled four RBIs that game while Butler’s homer was a solo shot. She also doubled, as did Torres. Brown and Burkett also doubled.
Torres struck out six over and allowed two earned runs.
Earlier against Clear Falls, the Grizzlies scored all four runs in the first two innings. Taveres, Torres, Burkett and Milligan each had an RBI. Milligan and Taveres each had two hits.
Mack went all six innings with seven strikeouts. She allowed three earned runs on five hits.
Thursday’s games
Grand Oaks started the tournament Thursday morning with an 8-0 win over Houston Heights, a program that reached the regional semifinals in 2024.
Torres was phenomenal in the circle with five innings pitched, 11 strikeouts to just two walks.
Grand Oaks scattered four hits and took advantage of four errors.
Tavares, Torres, Burkett, Julia Veilleux and Arianna Sanchez each had an RBI while Veilleux and Burkett doubled.
Later in the evening, the Grizzlies defeated Magnolia 10-5.
Brown and Burkett each homered and doubled. Burkett finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs while Brown was 2-for-2 with three RBIs and three runs scored.
Torres, Veilleux and Leveston each had one RBI.
Hernandez pitched all seven innings with five earned runs allowed and three strikeouts.
Grand Oaks softball lifts Ava Butler (00) as the team poses for a photo after winning the Space City Classic Feb. 15, 2025. (Jose Palomo/SportCast Media)
