After playing 19 innings late into the night Wednesday in Springfield, Ill., against the Sliders, the Butler BlueSox returned to town at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday.

They were tired and bleary-eyed, but the BlueSox were also determined to keep a winning streak that included a hard-fought doubleheader sweep five-plus hours away rolling.

Knoch graduate Chris Law saw to that. So did Butler grad Wyatt Daugherty.

Law went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and two runs scored and Daugherty pitched two perfect innings for a save as the BlueSox won their fourth consecutive game, downing Chillicothe 6-4 at Kelly Automotive Park Thursday night.

“It was a little rough, but we're playing baseball,” Law said. “I felt bad for the bus driver, but he got us back safe and sound.

“We kind of just went out and there and said, 'Hey, we're tired, but we just have to go out there and play,'” Law added. “That's what we did.”

Butler didn't look sluggish.

After falling behind 2-0 early, the BlueSox cut that lead in half on the strength of a RBI single by Nick Mancuso.

Butler (15-25) then put a four-spot on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning, the big blow coming on a two-run double by cleanup hitter Kellen Sarver.

Chillicothe closed the gap to 5-4 in the top of the sixth, scoring two runs with two outs in the frame, but Butler added an insurance run on a RBI single by Jeffrey Wehler in the bottom of the seventh and Daugherty shut the door in the eighth and ninth innings.

After what has been a challenging summer, the BlueSox are playing like manager Cody Herald figured they would all season.

“They've been really trying to get together with each other and playing for each other,” Herald said. “It's been showing. We were supposed to play two sevens (Tuesday) and we ended up playing a 12 and a seven. The energy was still there, even at 11:30 at night.

“When it was time to play,” Herald added. “They were ready.”

Nick Fuchs got the start for Butler and quickly put in the past his last outing against Chillicothe.

On June 29, Fuchs was rocked by the Paints to the tune of seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Thursday, Fuchs fanned 10 in 5 2/3 innings to get the win.

Four of those strikeouts came on pitches off the turf.

“He's a swing-and-miss kind of guy,” Herald said. “He struggled a little bit when he was getting behind in the counts, but when he gets the low strikes and he works efficiently, that's what you'll get out of him.”

Daugherty was his usual steady self, striking out three in his two innings of work.

The right-hander was one of the few fresh arms available out of the pen after throwing just a third of an inning in the doubleheader Wednesday.

“Wyatt is one of those kids, no matter how many innings he's pitched, he'll come up to us and say, 'Hey, I want the ball,'” Herald said. “He's one of those kids that he has the mentality for the role, the mindset, and nothing phases him.”

Law has also been steady of late, going 10 for his last 31.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, his surge has coincided with the arrival of his former Knoch teammate, Dominick Bucko.

The two former Knights hit 1-2 in the order against the Paints Thursday.

“It's kind of crazy, when he came, that's when I started hitting,” Law said, smiling. “We always said in high school that we feed of one another. He gets a hit, I want to get a hit. I get a hit, he wants to get a hit. There's kind of a little competition between me and him.”

Now, Butler is feeling competitive again heading into a rare off-day Friday.

Butler is nine game back of Chillicothe and 7½ out of a playoff spot.

The BlueSox will host Champion City at the KAP at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.

“It's an off-day and you have to take care of your body,” Herald said. “We've got to push. There's plenty of time left. If you look at any sport, a lot of times it's about who gets hot at the right time and maybe this is the start of it.”

Chillicothe 020 002 000 — 4 6 2

Butler 010 040 10x — 6 9 0

W: Nick Fuchs 5.2IP (10K, 4BB). L: Zack Harvey 5.2IP (6K, 2BB). SV: Wyatt Daugherty 2IP (3K, 0BB)

Chillicothe (23-15): Dallas Hall 2B RBI, Dilon Dingler 2B, Trace Hatfield 2B, Cole Heavilin 3B RBI, Drew DeVine 1B 2-RBI, Dan McCauley 1B

Butler (15-25): Chris Law 2-1B, Jeffrey Wehler 1B RBI, Kellen Sarver 2B 2-RBI, Evan Webb 2B, Nick Mancuso 2-1B RBI, Grant Hannant 3B RBI

Saturday: Champion City at Butler