BUTLER TWP — Butler City manager Jerry Piroch has had the pitching all season.

On Wednesday night, his team's offense had its own time in the spotlight.

Butler City tallied 16 hits in a 9-5 win over previously undefeated Meridian in a Butler County American Legion baseball winners bracket semifinal tournamentgame at Highfield Park.

The big inning for Butler City was the fourth, when the squad turned a 3-0 lead into a 7-0 edge with four runs on five hits.

Three BC hitters, Clark Liebler, John Cumpston and Wes Henderson, had three hits each in the game.

"At the beginning of the season, I didn't know if I had the horses to be a really good team. But one thing we did have was pitching," Piroch said. "But the hitting had to come around, and it certainly did tonight."

Butler City (10-7-1) will face East Butler in the winners bracket final at Speed-O Field at 6 p.m. today

Meridian (18-1) will face Cranberry Township in a survival game at Highfield, also at 6 p.m. today

While Butler City's offense collected at least two hits in each of the first five innings, pitcher Jose Cumba neutralized Meridian's potent lineup for much of the game.

Entering the seventh inning, Meridian had produced three runs on two hits.

The tournament's No. 1 seed managed to plate a pair of runs before Cumba closed the game by stranding runners at second and third.

Cumba struck out four, walked four and gave up five runs on four hits in the complete game.

Considering his defense made seven errors, Piroch couldn't say enough about Cumba's performance.

"He was phenomenal," Piroch said. "There were some plays tonight that we weren't able to make out there for him, but not once did Jose turn around and call somebody out. He's always positive."

The poor fielding wasn't limited to Butler City.

Meridian committed six errors, five of them behind starting pitcher Bobby Swartwout, who took the loss after striking out seven, walking one and giving up seven earned runs on 15 hits in his five innings.

"Defensively, we didn't make a lot of plays in the field," said Meridian coach Rob Swartwout. "And, offensively, we hit the ball, but we hit it at somebody. Butler City was the better team tonight and deserved to win the game."

With Butler City leading 7-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Meridian scored two runs when Kenny Dunmyre reached on an infield single, moved to second and third on consecutive wild pitches and came home on a throwing error.

Swartwout later drove in Christos Klutinoty with a base hit.

With its lead trimmed to 7-2, Butler City wasted no time getting the runs back in the next half inning when Cumpston's two-out single scored Henderson and Liebler.

Tonight's game will be the first time this season in which Meridian will take the field following a loss, but Rob Swartwout isn't concerned it will have a negative impact on the team.

"I'm not worried at all," he said. "This team is resilient and they've come from behind to win games this year."

Note: Meridian head coach Butch Master was unable to attend the game due to job responsibilities.

Butler City 201 420 0 — 9 16 7Meridian 000 210 2 — 5 4 6W: Jose Cumba (7 IP) 4 K, 4 BB.

L: Bobby Swartwout (5 IP) 7 K, 1 BB.

Butler City (10-7-1): Brandon Lamotte 1B R, Clark Liebler 3-1B 3R, Jeff Slater 2-1B 2R, John Cumpston 3-1B R 3 RBI, Jose Cumba 1B RBI, Steve Bartley 1B 2B RBI, Steve Kuhrt 1B, Wes Henderson 3-1B 2R

Meridian (18-1): Caleb Trombatt 1B R, Kenny Dunmyre 1B 2B 2R, Christos Klutinoty R RBI, Bobby Swartwout 1B RBI, Josh Williams R

Today: Butler City at East Butler, 6 p.m.; Cranberry Township at Meridian, 6 p.m.