BUTLER TWP — Butler Township manager Jason Stobert tells his players the deeper you go into the playoffs, the tougher the pitching will be.In Saturday's District 25 Championship for 11- and 12-year-olds, his squad seemed to handle things just fine.Ryan Denny hit two home runs and Butler Township pitcher Adam Schaffner allowed just two hits en route to a 10-0, five-inning victory over A-C Valley at Adelman Park.With the win, Butler Township advances to the sectional tournament, where they will travel to face DuBois Thursday."From top to bottom, it's a great-hitting baseball team," said Stobert, whose team won the District 25 11-year-old title last year. "It may take a while, but once you start hitting, it'll come in chunks."Butler Township held a 1-0 lead in the third inning — Denny had hit a solo home run in the first inning — before the bats came alive.A one-out double by Cory Hilliard was followed by an RBI single by Shae Stobert and a two-run homer by Denny off A-C Valley starter Logan McNamara for a 4-0 lead."(Butler Township) got Logan's timing down the second time through the lineup," said A-C Valley manager John Irwin. "The first time he held them, but it was a little easier for them the second time through."The two-homer game gave Denny four roundtrippers in Butler Township's four-game District 25 title run. Both of his home runs Saturday went over the centerfield wall."He's got the picture perfect swing," said Stobert. "With the right pitch and the perfect swing, he can really hit the ball."Our Nos. 3 through 6 hitters are our big home run hitters ... and (No. 2 hitter) Ryan's got four now. That's good for Ryan and good for Butler Township," Stobert added.In the meantime, Schaffner was In the meantime, Schaffner was efficient against A-C Valley. After two outs in the first inning, Ryan Bartley had singled and Kevin Kaufman walked.Schaffner would retire 13 of the final 15 batters he would face, surrendering a single in the second inning and a hit batsman in the fifth.Butler Township broke the game open in the fifth, plating six runs to close out the contest.A two-run double by Canan Roskovski along with RBI singles by Jordan Winters, Jacob Ferguson and Cory Hilliard highlighted the frame. Hilliard's hit drove in the final run to invoke the mercy rule."We had 15 kids to choose from and we brought 10, " said Irwin, "so I'm pleased for our little area."Am I pleased with our team? Yeah. Am I pleased we got to the finals? Yeah. Could we have played better (Saturday)? Yeah," Irwin added.Said Stobert, "I'm proud of our kids. They've come a long way. We had a wide range of kids and they needed to jell and they've done that."We've had great fan support. My assistant coach Mike Denny works hard and works the kids hard. He's done a nice job. I can't take the credit, it's the boys. The games are in their hands and they do a great job."

Notes: Denny was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning (helmet to shoulder) and left the game. He was shaken up but was able to leave the field under his own power ... A-C Valley stranded three runners in scoring position in the game ... McNamara tossed four innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. He struck out five batters and did not issue a walk.

A-C Valley 000 00x x—0 2 2Butler Township 103 06x x—10 12 0Logan McNamara, Ryan Bartley (5, 0 K, 0 BB), Kevin Kaufman (5, 0 K, 0 BB), Kevin Kaufman and Andrew Strauser; Adam Schaffner and Ryan Denny.

W: Schaffner (7 K, 1 BB).

L: McNamara (5 K, 0 BB).

A-C Valley (3-2): Ryan Bartley 1B; Justin Rothen 1B

Butler Township (4-0): Shae Stobert 2-1B, RBI; Ryan Denny 2 HR, 3 RBI; Jordan Winters 1B, RBI; Colin McKee 1B; Canan Roskovski 2B, 2 RBI; Jacob Ferguson 1B, RBI; Cody Wheeler 1B; Cory Hilliard 1B, 2B, RBI; Ian Bergbigler 1B