BUTLER TWP — A sharp ground ball hit Wyatt Daugherty and bounced away.

Then the game got away.

North Allegheny broke a tight game open late — scoring six times with the help of four errors in the sixth inning — and handed Butler a 10-1 Section 1-AAAA baseball loss Tuesday night at Butler High School.

“We played a solid game defensively tonight and Nick Gross was outstanding against a good hitting team,” Tigers coach Andy Maddix said. “He threw strikes, changed speeds well and kept them off-balance.”

Still, the outcome of the game was in doubt in the fifth inning. NA's Dan McCauley stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, two outs, and worked the count full against Butler pitcher Daugherty.

North Allegheny had a 2-1 lead at the time.

McCauley hit the 3-2 pitch up the middle, the ball deflecting off Daugherty's pitching hand. After scrambling to retrieve the ball, Daugherty threw wildly to first and two runs scored.

“Wyatt didn't have all the feeling in his hand right when that happened and he tried to make a big play,” Butler coach Todd Erdos said. “He couldn't get the grip on ther ball he wanted.

“Yeah, that was a pivotal play. Everything unraveled for us from there.”

North Allegheny (9-7, 5-3) took advantage of Golden Tornado errors on three successive ground balls in the sixth to score six runs. Blake Young's two-run double was the big blow in the frame.

Daugherty was pulled with one out in the sixth, having thrown 107 pitches. Conner Thomas finished the game on the mound. Butler (7-8, 4-4) managed just four hits all night and committed six errors.

North Allegheny collected 10 hits, eight walks, reached base on errors three times and stranded 11 runners.

Senior right-hander Gross struck out only two for NA, but threw 53 of his 80 pitches for strikes. He threw only 26 pitches in the final three innings.

“That's what he does, This was vintage Nick Gross,” Maddix said. “He throws strikes and works fast. Our kids love playing behind him and made plays for him.

“We had a rough stretch recently, losing to Butler at home, losing to Seneca Valley in 10 innings, getting beat pretty good by North Hills, but we've bounced back. I'm proud of my guys.”

The Tigers have won three straight games to move into sole possession of second place in the section.

The Tornado scored their lone run in the fourth. Ian Steighner reached on an infield single for Butler's first hit. With two outs, he scored on Lake Sankey's single to left.

Garrett Goslaw reached on an error before Sankey's hit. With two runners on, Sankey was picked off first to end the inning.

Butler never had more than one runner on base in any other inning all night.

“We knew this was going to be a grind it out, down to the end type of section,” Erdos said. “Fortunately, we're still in a good position in the standings.

“But we have to bounce back against Pine-Richland (tonight) and play better baseball than we did tonight.”

N.Allegheny 200 026 0 — 10 10 1

Butler 000 100 0 — 1 4 6

W: Nick Gross 7IP (2K, 1BB). L: Wyatt Daugherty 5.1IP (2K, 4BB).

North Allegheny (9-7, 5-3): Keegan Phillips 2-1B 3-R, Garrett Hagen RBI 2-R, Ryan Hamm 1B RBI, Blake Young 2B 2-RBI 2-R, Jon Dignazio 3-1B, Dan McCauley 1B RBI, Alex Mesaros 1B, Neil Woods 1B

Butler (7-8, 4-4): Ian Steighner 2-1B, Lake Sankey 1B RBI, Connor Ollio 1B

Today: Pine-Richland at Butler