JEFFERSON TWP - Prospect kept sending them in.

Saxonburg kept knocking them out.

Six pitchers took the mound for visiting Prospect in its first-round Butler County American Legion baseball playoff game with Saxonburg.

None of them faired well.

The Prospect hurlers combined for 11 walks and just two strikeouts in a 13-7 loss to Saxonburg Tuesday at Laura Doerr Park.

The win allows Saxonburg (18-2), the top seed in the BCAL playoffs, to host today's semifinal against Meridian, a 4-2 winner over Center Township.

Prospect (9-11) dressed just nine players while Saxonburg had 16 at its disposal.

"We're really proud of the boys," said Prospect coach Mark White. "We had six 15-year-olds out there today."

In the early going, Saxonburg needed some help to generate offense, and Prospect provided it.

Trailing 3-1 entering the bottom of the third inning, Saxonburg scored two runs without the aid of a base hit.

Prospect starter Sean Ray walked the first two batters of the inning, Dan Pickard and Jeff Foster.

Both runners came around to score, Pickard on a sacrifice fly and Foster on a wild pitch from reliever Mark White, who wound up shouldering the loss.

Two one-out walks in the next inning both turned into Saxonburg runs, with Pickard providing a spark to the team's offense with a three-run home run over the left-field fence off of Jesse Badgett, making the score 7-3.

"Sometimes it seems that it takes us a while to get going," said Saxonburg coach Jim Bacon. "(Prospect) played us tough early."

Prospect would never again come close to pulling even, as relievers Brandon Ray and Travis McDougal both struggled to retire Saxonburg batters.

Adam Brydon was brought in to get the final out in the bottom of the sixth inning, ending a frustrating night for his team's pitching staff.

Saxonburg's Zach Toth earned the win, pitching six innings before giving way to Kevin Bacon for the final three outs.

Toth struggled early, as he tallied four of his six walks in the first two innings. But in both cases, he was able to leave the bases loaded as Prospect had just two runs after two frames.

In one stretch from the top of the fourth inning to the top of the sixth, Toth retired eight straight batters, five of them via strikeout.

He ended the game with seven strikeouts while giving up four runs on six hits.

"That was definitely the slowest start Zach has had for us," said Bacon. "But as the game went on, he began throwing hard. I guess it took a while for him to get loosened up."

In the BCAL's other semifinal game, Mars will take on Zelienople at 6 p.m. today at Seneca Valley High School.

Prospect 201 001 3 - 7 10 3

Saxonburg 012 505 x -13 11 2

WP:

Zach Toth (6 IP) 7 strikeouts, 6 walks.

LP:

Mark White (1

IP) 1 strikeout, 2 walks

Prospect (9-11):

Charlie Roth 1B 2B R, Dave Hewitt 1B 2B, Mark White 2B R, Sean Ray 1B 2R SB, Brandon Ray 1B 2R RBI 2SB

Saxonburg (18-2):

Dan Pickard HR 2R 3RBI, Jeff Foster 2-1B 3R RBI 2SB, Kevin Bacon 2-1B R, Josh Uncapher 2B R RBI, John Lefevre 1B 2R

Today:

Meridian @ Saxonburg, BCAL semifinal playoff