BEVERLY - "He's just a baseball kid" in every sense, Danvers American manager Manny Costa said of his starting pitcher, after his team's 13-1 trouncing of Peabody American at Harry Ball Field.
Able to hit for power and find the gaps. Able to run. Able to refocus and battle when struggling on the mound.
Able to be complete, in every sense of the word.
Chris "Butsy" Butler hurled a five-inning complete game, giving up one run on three singles, two to Peabody American starting pitcher David Hoar and another to first baseman Matthew Moorer. He struck out nine batters and walked one.
"It got to the point where we were trying to run him out of pitches, eat some pitch counts," Peabody American manager Jay Wickeri said. "But the kid was awesome. He managed the tempo of the game."
Butler also smacked two opposite-field doubles; one down the left-field line, the other over the leftfielder's head. He led off Danvers' two-run first inning with a single.
Butler's production typified the offensive yield of the entire Danvers American lineup; seventeen total hits, nine singles in the first three innings, five extra-base hits and seven players with multi-hit games.
"We are putting some runs on there," Costa remarked, "which settles down our defense. Today we got two runs in the first inning. That settled us, so when Butsy took the hill, he was battling with a lead."
Danvers American picked up runs in every inning but the second, with two in the first, third and fourth innings and seven in the fifth, necessitating the 10-run rule.
Ten of its runs came with two outs; two of which coming from Bailey Klein's two-run round-tripper in the top of the fourth inning.
It was a homecoming of sorts for the left fielder, who went 3 for 4 at the dish. Klein played youth baseball in Beverly for two years before moving over to Danvers.
"Every home run feels good," said Klein, who sailed the first pitch of his third at-bat 20 feet over the centerfield fence. "But this is my old field. This one felt really good."
Taking advantage of scoring situations, with two outs in particular, can be credited to the team's efficient baserunning, Danvers American assistant coach Scott Taylor said.
"It's being awake," he said. "We scored a lot of runs just hustling on the bases. The kids were awake and played heads-up baseball."
Danvers American, which also received three hits from first baseman Alex Taylor, has generated 24 runs in its two tournament games.
Can any opponent stop the power surge?
"We're hoping not," Costa said. "Our guys can hit."
