Shortstop. Slugger. Show Closer. Meet Tucker Butori.

Buffalo Wild Wings – Northwest Little League (11/12U)

Cooler than the flip-side of the pillow. That’s how 11-year-old Tucker Butori played in Anaconda last week, and now he’s your Butte Sports Athlete of the Week.

In a barn burner against Anaconda Community Hospital, Butori stepped up and delivered the game of his young life, leading Buffalo Wild Wings to an 8-7 win on the road with just eight players suited up.

Starting at shortstop, Butori was a vacuum, scooping up grounders and locking down the infield. At the plate, he went 2-for-4, including a missile triple down the right-field line that scored two huge runs and gave BWW momentum late.

But the biggest moment came in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs and the tying and winning runs in scoring position, Wild Thing started playing in the background of the timeout pitching change and Butori took the mound. Cool. Calm. Collected. And then — BOOM — he blew a heater by the batter so fast, he froze like a popsicle in January. Strike three. Game over. Buffalo Wild Wings hangs on, 8-7.

And major props to Tucker Cunneen, who played first base in a walking boot after an earlier injury. He turned in highlight-reel picks and went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, helping spark the shorthanded squad. Without him they didn’t even get to play the game.

From shortstop to the mound, with ice in his veins and fire in his heart, Tucker Butori earns this week’s Athlete of the Week.