Pitch after pitch missed the mark.

Ball 1. Ball 2. Ball 3. Ball 4.

Butler pitchers were unable to find the strike zone, issuing 11 walks — two with the bases loaded — and hitting a batter in an 11-0 Prospect League loss to Chillicothe (Ohio) at Pullman Park Thursday night.

Butler starting pitcher Tom Nagy was particularly troubled by control problems.

The right-hander walked six and gave up a season-high seven earned runs in 3X\c innings.

Jordan LaClair didn't fare much better for the BlueSox. The left-hander relieved Nagy and walked three batters in two innings.

"Walks have been Tom's Achilles' heel all season — and Jordan's, for that matter," said Butler manager Jason Wuerfel. "When they are in the zone, and get strike one, they are hard to hit. It's that way for any pitcher, but particularly for them. They've both had trouble with the walks."

Nagy has walked 28 batters in 27X\c innings. LaClair has issued 18 walks in 19X\c innings.

The walks buried Butler. By the middle of the fifth inning, the free passes, coupled with Chillicothe hits, resulted in a 9-0 lead for the Paints.

"Even though we got out of the first inning with only two runs scored, Tom's pitch count was really up there," Wuerfel said.

Wuerfel, who already was dealing with a thin pitching staff, had even fewer arms in the bullpen because of a 12-inning loss to Chillicothe the night before.

Wuerfel closed the game with position players Greg DeSantis and Brett Zurliene on the hill. Both had college pitching experience but had rarely thrown for the BlueSox.

DeSantis and Zurliene combined to work 3Z\c shutout innings.

"All I had was (LaClair) tonight, then I had to throw a couple of position players," Wuerfel said. "DeSantis is working on being a pitcher and Zurliene pitched some in college, but you can't really expect a lot out of them out there. But they both did a great job."

The sting of the 7-3 loss to Chillicothe in 12 innings Wednesday was still felt Thursday, Wuerfel said.

"Any time you have a game like that, that goes long, and you come out on the losing end and you throw the kitchen sink out there and fight and claw, you can't help but have a hangover," Wuerfel said. "There's just no way around it."

Chillicothe wrapped up the East Division title and will play Quincy (Ill.) in a best-of-three championship series.

Butler was in the race down to the final week. That was enough to make Wuerfel happy.

"I'm really proud of these guys," Wuerfel said. "They worked their hearts out. We had five guys in the bullpen and two guys on the bench the majority of the season. Before the season started, we lost our No. 1 catcher and our No. 1 first baseman. We lost our No. 2 starter to school. We really scrapped to put guys out on the field and stay healthy.

"Even as shorthanded as we were, these guys battled," he added

The BlueSox close the season by playing at Slippery Rock tonight and hosting the Sliders Saturday night.

Chillicothe 200 522 000 — 11 13 1Butler 000 000 100 — 1 8 1W: Tony Bertucci (6 IP) 2 K, 2 BB.

L: Tom Nagy (3X\c IP) 3 K, 6 BB.

Chillicothe (31-21): Ben Allen 2-1B; Kyle Gendron 2-1B, RBI; Zach Leonard 1B, 2-RBI; Cory Maguire 1B, 3-RBI; Kris McDonough 2B, 3-RBI; Tim Krofcheck 2-1B, 3-R

Butler (27-25): Brian Billigen 2-1B; Eric Hymel 3-1B