Damon Dues

#RaiderGang

[Koby Dues @KobyDues]

End of the Junior Year High School season.
Offensive stats
AVG: .490
OBP: .583
Hits: 47
2B: 7
3B: 2
HR: 4
RBI: 37
Runs: 53
SB: 31

Defensive stats
FP: .966
E: 3

Pitching
ERA: 0.24
IP: 29.1
K: 41

90-92 T94

@weldyprep @JGatesPG @CincyLegends27 @butler_baseball

[Starting 9(37) @Starting9_37_]

2027 RHP Koby Dues for @butler_baseball

FB: 93T 92-90🔥
SL: 77
CH: 84
#ForThe937

[Damon Dues @DDues9]

The issue is half the league is rebuilding every year. Until losing teams are penalized through a tax system there will continue to be a competitive imbalance. No one wants to watch 162 games of rebuilding

[Jacob Calvin Meyer @jcalvinmeyer]

Chris Bassitt, MLBPA executive subcommittee member, on the salary cap debate and why he's against it:

“The salary cap doesn’t fix anything. If you look at every major sport with a salary cap, we have the best parity. The salary cap is not the issue. Having suppressed salaries across the league so owners make more money is not the answer.

"If I would tell you in 25 years, the Dodgers would be going to 10 World Series and winning seven of them, is that an issue? Because that’s the Patriots. The Chiefs have been to what, six or seven? The Philadelphia Eagles have been to four or five. The parity in our sport is better than any other sport.

"We will make changes to try to help the so-called bottom teams out, but a salary cap and suppressing salaries and taking from players to try to help the so-called bottom teams spend more? That’s not the answer. Because if you’re trying to make a competitive league across the board, we have proof that every single league [has] less parity than ours. So how can you sit there and say a salary cap is going to fix this when every single salary cap sport has less parity than ours? It makes no sense.

"Again, the root of the answer is not the salary cap, and the root of why owners want a salary cap is not for competitive balance.”

[Damon Dues @DDues9]

@LanceMcAlister Correct

[Travis Clark @tclarkpitching]

2027 SS/RHP @KobyDues 95mph across the infield today

Up 5mph from PBR’s Futures Games

Makes adjustments on the fly…athletic demon

Let’s see if this kid makes it to campus 🤔

[Prep Baseball Ohio @PrepBaseballOH]

2027 IF Koby Dues (Butler HS)

Day 3 from @LakePointSports & @KobyDues still rakes.

Running out of phrases to describe the hit tool from this IF. Doesn’t miss the barrel when he decides to pull it 👍🏼

Turns this one around for 100+ mph EV single up the middle 🔥

#PBFG25 | #BeSeen | @prepbaseball

[Prep Baseball Ohio @PrepBaseballOH]

2027 IF Koby Dues (Butler HS)

Another day..another XBH for Mr. Dues.

This one to the RF wall w/ 2k’s for a triple & an RBI 🏃‍♂️

2-0, T2

#PBFG25 | #BeSeen | @prepbaseball

[Prep Baseball Ohio @PrepBaseballOH]

2027 C Jackson Schilling (Butler HS)

Strong, physical backstop w/ a +arm. Shows the hit piece here in game. Gap to gap PWR.

Single the other way 🎥⬇️

#PBFG25 | #BeSeen | @prepbaseball

[Prep Baseball Ohio @PrepBaseballOH]

2027 SS/RHP Koby Dues (Butler)

FB: 86-87, T88.0
SL: 73-74

The 6-0, 160-pound two-way strikes out the side in his one inning of work, capping off the 6-0 win over #TeamKansas. Impressive performance from the R/R prospect, who also went 3-3 in game one for #TeamOhio

#PBFG25 | @Kobydues | @PrepBaseball

[Prep Baseball Ohio @PrepBaseballOH]

2027 IF Koby Dues (Vandalia Butler)

The talented RHH stays hot at the plate with a line shot to the right-center gap for a single, as the OF cut it off well. Dues is 2-2 on the day.

#PBFG25 | @KobyDues | @PrepBaseball

[Prep Baseball Ohio @PrepBaseballOH]

2027 IF Koby Dues (Vandalia-Butler)

6' 0", 170 lbs RHH puts the PWR/Speed combo on full display here 🎥⬇️

6.9 runner that legs out a triple to the wall for #TeamOhio 👍🏼

90 mph IF Velo from #PBFG25 workout 📊

#PBFG25 | #BeSeen | @prepbaseball

[Prep Baseball Ohio @PrepBaseballOH]

2027 IF Koby Dues | Vandalia-Butler HS

Top EV: 96.8mph

6.9/60 | 90mph IF Velo

#PBFG25 || #BeSeen || @prepbaseball

[Koby Dues @KobyDues]

Second Home Run of the summer in the WWBA.
@Ejmccummings12 @Chase_20_Slone @Coach_Chiero @ZWeatherford55 @Blairb11 @J_Gar12 @str8ched @CoachSheriffUC @17nickplaatje @CincyLegends27

[Koby Dues @KobyDues]

Home run on day 3 of the #NatElite also had a ground rule double. Good team win!
@Ejmccummings12 @Chase_20_Slone @ZWeatherford55 @Coach_Chiero @CoachWesSmoke @PG_Scouting @weldyprep @17nickplaatje

[Prep Baseball Ohio @PrepBaseballOH]

2027 SS/RHP @KobyDues
Butler

EV: 96 mph

#PBTPGOhio

[Connor Holdren @ConnorHoldren_]

2027 C Jackson Schilling (OH) is a guy to get eyes on all summer

Swings a heavy barrel w/ plenty of loud contact all spring ⤵️

Showed off the catch/throw & ability to stick at a premium position 👍

@ShooterHunt | @weldyprep | @J_Schill2027

[Connor Holdren @ConnorHoldren_]

2027 SS/3B Koby Dues (OH) impressed in all aspects of the game today

Got off some quality swings 👇

Showed off the leather, taking a couple hits off the board at 3rd 👍

@butler_baseball | @weldyprep | @PrepBaseballOH

[Koby Dues @KobyDues]

Good start to a bout 3/4 of the season 17-0 as a team.
Offensive stats:
AVG= .414 OBP= .493 XBH= 6 RBI= 16 Hits= 24 Runs= 29 SB= 11
Appeared in a few games in relief pitching sitting 85-88 T89. @PrepBaseballOH @weldyprep @_CoachPeteW @CoachWesSmoke @CincyLegends27

[Butler Baseball Report @ButlerBaseball]

In a program known for its tradition, its championships, and its competitive fire, one of Butler Baseball’s greatest strengths has always been its consistency.

And for thirty seasons, Mike Bardonaro has been an integral part of that.

“Bardo’s been with me for three decades,” said head coach Trent Dues. “Not only are we coaches—we’re great friends. We’ve been through a lot of wins and a lot of tough losses.”

Thirty seasons. That’s not just loyalty. That’s a legacy.

After successful baseball careers at Chaminade-Julienne High School and Wright State University, Bardonaro joined the program in 1995, cutting his teeth as an assistant on the junior varsity staff.

He became JV head coach in 1999, leading his teams to a string of 20-win seasons. It was in 2009 that he joined the varsity staff as pitching coach, his presence truly helping to galvanize the heart of the program. A year later, he was named the Miami Valley Baseball Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year.

And yet—he’d be the last to mention any of that.

Instead, he’ll tell you how proud he is just to be part of it all. How much it means to coach beside his longtime friend. How grateful he is for the players, the staff, the community. He’s said it time and again: “I’m just proud to be part of Butler Baseball.”

Bardonaro doesn’t crave the spotlight. He’s usually behind the scenes—toting buckets of baseballs, keeping the technology side of baseball operations humming, or tossing batting practice until his shoulder begs for mercy.

“I call him my right brain, we’re yin and yang,” Dues says with a smile.

On game day, the players trust him. His fellow coaches rely on him.

Ask the pitchers. He’s the calming voice when the moment gets too big, the guy who brings just the right words to the mound. A little wisdom, a little levity, and somehow, the storm passes.

What makes Bardonaro even more remarkable is that his commitment isn’t confined to the diamond. A teacher at Butler High School, he’s shaped young minds in the classroom too.

At home, the program has always been a family passion. Mike and Heidi Bardonaro have raised two talented daughters, Samantha and Dillan—both standout basketball players who grew up around Butler Baseball. The duo has always been incredibly supportive and invested in the girls’ success.

Sami’s now playing college ball at USC Aiken. Dillan, a sharp-shooting sophomore at Butler, carries the Bardonaro grit into every game.

And if you look a little deeper into the Butler Baseball family tree, you’ll find Gus “Pops” Bardonaro—Mike’s father—woven into the fabric too. He was in the stands watching Mike’s brother Jeff play for the Aviators from 1994 to 1998. Later, he joined Mike’s JV staff and went on to become a familiar, calming presence in the varsity dugout, serving as the team’s mental coach. Two generations, all connected to one program, not by spotlight, but by steady, genuine presence.

Coach Dues summed it up best: “Without him, our program would not be what it is today.”

Thirty seasons later, Bardonaro will tell you that it still isn’t about him.

But in a program built on tradition, consistency, and care—maybe, just this once—it should be.

[Damon Dues @DDues9]

@largerboiii I think it still might be relatively low. If Coinbase and others list and with inauguration in coming days