It may not have been the hit Sam Gross was looking for, but it worked just as well.

Butler's first baseman came to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning and the score tied 5-5 in the Golden Tornado's non-section baseball game against Knoch Wednesday night.

Knights' pitcher Brandon Stull started the at-bat off with a fastball that hit Gross in the right elbow, which allowed Dallas Hays to trot home with the winning run in a 6-5 decision at Kelly Automotive Park.

“I knew it was going to be a fastball and I wanted to do whatever it took to win the game,” said Gross.

The winning run was set up when three straight Butler batters reached base with one out. Hays' hustle landed him at first base with an infield single and he moved to third on Cade Negley's double. With first base open, Connor Ollio was intentionally walked to load the bases.

“It's frustrating when you lose, no matter how it happens or who it comes against,” said Knoch coach Sean O'Donnell.

Butler scored its final three runs of the game against Stull, a reliever who entered the game one batter into the sixth inning.

Trailing 5-3 in that frame, Isaiah Lucas drilled a double that plated Jefferson Ford to cut Butler's deficit to one run.

In the seventh, Ryan Lynn singled to lead off the inning and later tied the game thanks to a two-base throwing error.

The Tornado (13-6) then entrusted Alec Bayer to keep Knoch off the scoreboard and he did, working two scoreless innings. He struck out Brandon Kowalski to strand the go-ahead run at second base in the top of the ninth.

Bayer got the win with a pair of strikeouts and a walk.

“He hasn't gotten very consistent time out of our bullpen, but he did a tremendous job tonight,” said Butler coach Todd Erdos.

Knoch starting pitcher Jake Herrit turned in a rather unique outing. In his 5-plus innings of work, Herrit allowed just one hit, but he also walked six.

Over the first three innings, the free passes did not hurt him.

“He was effectively wild,” said Erdos. “Our guys were seeing pitches all over the place, then he (Herrit) would paint one on the corner. He kept us off-balance and made good pitches when he needed to.”

That is, until the bottom of the fourth. Herrit appeared to be on his way to escaping the inning unscathed after two walks to begin the frame.

A fielding error loaded the bases before Herrit tallied back-to-back strikeouts of Lucas and Bayer, but Ollio scored the Tornado's first run after an errant throw during a rundown between third base and home.

Adam Hohn then tallied Butler's first hit of the game, a two-run double that tied the game at 3-3.

“Jake hasn't given up many hits all year,” said O'Donnell of his starter. “He's wild for a while, then he finds it.”

Herrit's outing ended when he walked Gross to begin the sixth, leading to Stull's entry into the game.

Brandon Fleeger started on the mound for Butler and survived a 3-run first inning and two more tallies in the fifth to pitch the first seven frames.

The Knights got to him early when Mike McCarty, Kowalski and Dylan Swarmer managed three straight hits in Knoch's first at-bat.

After Butler tied the game, Knoch was back at it in the fifth. A throwing error charged to Butler was followed by Dom Bucko's RBI-triple and Kowalski's RBI-single.

Fleeger's no-decision included eight strikeouts and one walk.

Both teams have qualified for the WPIAL playoffs — Knoch (15-4) as the Section 1-4A champion and Butler as the third-place team from Section 1-6A.

“This one hurts because we had the lead and we let it slip away,” said O'Donnell. “We have played a lot of close games this year and have come out on top in most of them. It didn't happen for us today, but it is not fatal. We now have to prepare for the Quad A playoffs.”

Butler closes the regular season today by hosting Ellwood City at the KAP. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

Knoch 300 020 000 — 5 8 4

Butler 000 301 101 — 6 6 3

W: Alec Bayer 2 IP (2K, 1BB). L: Brandon Stull 3.1 IP (1K, 1BB).

Knoch (15-4): Dom Bucko 2B 3B R RBI, Mike McCarty 1B R, Brandon Kowalski 1B 2B R RBI, Dylan Swarmer 1B RBI, Ben McMillen RBI, Jake Herrit 1B RBI, Derek McGill 1B R, Andy Pipes R

Butler (13-6): Dallas Hays 1B R, Cade Negley 2B, Connor Ollio 1B R, Sam Gross R RBI, Jacob Keene R, Isaiah Lucas 2B RBI, Adam Hohn 2B 2RBI, Jefferson Ford R, Ryan Lynn 1B R

Today: Ellwood City at Butler