FRANKLIN, Wis. – Riley Peterson threw five hitless innings, and Max Glusick and Dominic Kibler each drove in four runs apiece as Milwaukee claimed game two of a non-league doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, 10-3.
 
Peterson struck out a career-high eight batters and walked just two, needing only 72 pitches to get through the 17 batters he faced.
 
Kibler hit a grand slam in the Panthers' four-run fourth inning and Glusick added a three-run shot to extend Milwaukee's lead late. Bradyn Horn was also 4-for-4 in the nightcap and added an RBI.
 
The Panthers dropped the opening game of the day, 6-2.
 
Game Two
Milwaukee jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Tate Schmidt singled and Kibler followed with a walk. Horn plated the game's first run with a single to left, and Glusick drove in another with a base hit up the middle.
 
"In game two, our guys were able to attack their starter," said head coach Shaun Wegner. "He didn't control the zone as well, so we got him in better leverage counts and our hitters were able to take advantage."
 
With an early lead, Peterson walked one batter in both the second and third innings before striking out the side in the fourth.
 
The Panthers' offense broke it open with two outs in the fourth as Grant Ross and Schmidt singled before Joey Spence walked on four pitches. Kibler then launched the first pitch he saw over the bleachers in right centerfield to extend the lead to 6-0.
 
"Kibler has a really good eye for the zone," added Wegner. "He's able to impact the baseball, and when he hits it, he hits its hard. I know he's not as consistent as he would like to be right now, but he's a guy who's always going to get on base because of his vision. He takes the pitches he should, and swings at the ones he should."
 
Peterson struck out the side again in the fifth inning, before Lucas Watson came on and worked in and out of trouble, stranding the bases full in the sixth.
 
Kibler walked with one out in the bottom of the sixth, and Horn singled to put two for Glusick. On a 1-0 pitch, Glusick sent the ball over the fence in left field for the first home run of his career. The Panthers kept rolling as Charlie Marion singled and Christian Holmes doubled before an RBI ground ball by Cade Palkowski made it 10-0.
 
Butler scored three runs in the top of the seventh off Watson before Riley Golden recorded the final two outs to seal the win.
 
Peterson improved to 1-3 on the season, while Jake Thomas took the loss, falling to 0-4. Thomas allowed six runs on nine hits and four walks. Danny Gavin hit a three-run home run in the seventh for the Bulldogs.
 
Game One
Earlier in the day, Butler got out to a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the first inning, which held into the fifth.
 
Starting pitcher Gavin Theis stranded multiple runners on in the second and third innings and worked out of another jam in the fourth.
 
"Gavin had to struggle through it a little bit," added Wegner. "Quite honestly, it's because our defense put him in a poor position and we had some elevated pitch counts. If we make a couple plays earlier in the game and keep his pitch count down, you might see him deeper into that ballgame."
 
Butler scored another run in the fifth and two more in the sixth off Aiden Fishnick to extend its least to 4-0 before Milwaukee could get back to work offensively.
 
Dylan O'Connell led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, then stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. Marion lifted a ball to right to score the first Panther run.
 
After Milwaukee allowed two more runs in the top of the seventh, Holmes tripled with two down in the bottom of the inning and scored on an infield single by Ross. The Panthers were unable to score again as Butler took the opener by four.
 
Brock Buckley went the distance for Butler, striking out eight over seven innings to earn his first win of the season. Theis took the loss to fall to 1-2, striking out six over 4 2/3 innings. Fishnick struck out one over the final 2 1/3 frames.
 
"In the first game, give credit to Buckley, he really pitched baseball well. He mixed speeds and kept our hitters on our heels quite a bit," said Wegner.
 
Up Next
Milwaukee and Butler will wrap up the weekend set on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m. at Franklin Field.
 
Sunday's game will feature an audio stream with Scott Warras on the call, the stream will be available on the Varsity Network App (App Store / Google Play), and at MKEPanthers.com/Watch. Live stats of the games will also be available at MKEPanthers.com.