EAST BUTLER — Toward the end of infield practice before Tuesday's second-round Butler County American Legion baseball playoff game, East Butler manager Carl Hays pulled his team off the field.

Booted balls, poor throws, missed cutoff men — Hays had seen enough.

"I told them they had just embarrassed themselves," Hays said. "I told them it's time to play baseball now and show me what you really are. And they did."

The poor performance before the game didn't carry over into the contest for East Butler in an 8-2 win over Mars at Speed-O-Field.

Bill Coleman made two spectacular catches in center field and had two hits. Cody Herald drove in five runs, including a grand slam that blew the game open in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The first three innings showcased a pitchers duel between East Butler ace Nick Rossmiller and Mars southpaw Lee Lawver.

Both pitchers were nearly unhittable until the fourth inning. when East Butler cracked the scoreboard with three runs, keyed by RBI singles from Herald and Ryan Fennell.

Herald also stole home in the frame.

Herald's grand slam in the fifth turned a 4-0 game into an 8-0 advantage for East Butler.

That was plenty of run support for Rossmiller, who was masterful throughout.

The right-hander gave up only four hits and one earned run in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked two with a lively fastball that he commanded on both sides of the plate.

"If anyone won this ballgame for us it was Nick," Hays said. "To hold that lineup down — that's the best lineup in this league, and this was his best outing of the season."

Even down 8-0, Mars felt it was still in the game.

Mars got two runs in the top of the sixth inning, but Rossmiller settled down and retired Mars in order in the seventh to close out the win.

"We have four or five guys who have potential to hit it out of the park, so, we didn't feel like it was over," said Mars coach Dan Pierre.

East Butler (17-2) will get a respite before playing either Meridian or Butler City, who face off today at Highfield Park, in the winners bracket final.

Meanwhile, Mars (14-4) must get to the finals the hard way through the consolation bracket, but Pierre said he thinks his team has what it takes.

"I think we have plenty of pitching to send us a long way," Pierre said.

East Butler got plenty of defense, which was in stark contrast to its inauspicious pre-game warmups.

Coleman was the defensive star. His diving catch in the third inning saved a run and his acrobatic grab against the fence in the sixth quelled a potential big inning for Mars.

"Those were two of the best catches you will ever see," Hays said. "No one else in this league could make a catch like that against the 348-foot sign."

Suddenly, East Butler is the team lying in the weeds. In the first half of the season, East Butler was the team to beat. Now undefeated Meridian is getting all the attention.

Hays likes it that way.

"We've only lost twice," Hays said. "They should be talking about Meridian. They've had a (heck) of a season. But, I'll take two losses in a season any day. This team is not done."

Mars 000 002 0 — 2 4 1East Butler 000 350 x — 8 9 1W: Nick Rossmiller (7 IP) 7 K, 2 BB.

L: Lee Lawver (4 IP) 2 K, 2 BB.

Mars (14-4): Tyler Dean 1B, RBI

East Butler (17-2): Cody Herald 1B, GSHR, 5-RBI; Bill Coleman 2-1B, RBI; Ryan Fennell 2B, RBI

Thursday: Mars vs. Center Township; East Butler vs. Meridian-Butler City