How do you break up a slump? Kindly see if Ava Butler can end another game in dramatic fashion.
Butler, who hit a walk-off grand slam the first weekend of the season to win a tournament in League City, provided another thrilling finish Friday night.
The senior’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth broke a three-game losing streak as the Grizzlies won 5-4 over Willis in District 13-6A.
Grand Oaks (14-5, 4-3) hadn’t won since a March 4 home win over College Park. It was the Grizzlies’ first game since last Wednesday’s walk-off loss to Oak Ridge.
Willis (12-6, 3-4), meanwhile, has dropped two straight this week.
The Wildkats tied the game with two runs in the top of the seventh as Sydney Prihoda drew a bases-loaded walk.
Grand Oaks loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, but couldn’t scratch a run across.
After a triple by Addie Hall and a walk by Mattie Collins, Grand Oaks went to the bullpen where Kat Mack induced two groundouts to get out of the jam.
Lilo Wright walked with one out in the bottom of the eighth, and two batters later, Butler came through with the winner.
Victoria Hernandez went 7 ⅓ innings with four earned runs allowed. The freshman struck out two, walked two and scattered eight hits.
Kiley Milligan and Larissa Tavares each doubled for Grand Oaks. Milligan had an RBI, as did Ella Brown. Katelynn Torres scored two runs. Grand Oaks drew nine walks and struck out 13 times as Willis’ Alexi Ford threw 181 pitches in 7⅔ innings.
The teams split their 2024 games with Grand Oaks winning 4-0 in February and Willis winning 7-0 in April.
Grand Oaks jumps right back into the fray Saturday afternoon. The Grizzlies travel to play Caney Creek at 12:45 p.m.
The Grand Oaks softball team mobs Ava Butler (00) after her walk-off hit against Willis on March 21, 2025. (Noah Mabry/SportCast Media)
