BlueSox outfielder and Freeport graduate Ryan Siegel is congratulated by Butler manager Anthony Rebyanski after blasting a two-run homer at Pullman Park on Tuesday. It was one of two times the slugger took a trip around the bases during the critical victory for Butler over Slippery Rock.

Ryan Siegel broke loose. And the Butler BlueSox stayed close.

The Freeport graduate and incoming Coastal Carolina University sophomore drilled two homers, a triple and collected four RBIs Tuesday night as the BlueSox defeated Slippery Rock, 6-2, in Prospect League baseball action at Pullman Park.

Siegel became the second BlueSox player to homer twice in a game at Pullman Park this season. He joined Shayne Houck, who turned the trick on June 10.

Tuesday's win pulled the BlueSox within a game of first-place Slippery Rock. A loss would have left Butler three games behind the Sliders with nine to play.

“Yeah, we pretty much had to have this one,” BlueSox manager Anthony Rebyanski said. “I think some team is going to get hot and run away over these final two weeks.

“Now we still have a chance to be that team.”

Siegel had plenty to do with that. He entered Tuesday's game with a .159 batting average (14-for-88) with no homers and three RBIs on the season.

“I was beating myself up a couple of weeks ago,” Siegel said. “I wasn't doing much of anything at the plate.

“I knew this would be a difficult summer for me since I didn't play this spring at Coastal. But I didn't think it'd be this bad. I went back to working with (high school hitting coach) Bruce Yard and I'm swinging the bat like I did in high school.”

The Sliders took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the third inning. Butler got on the board when Jon Danielczyk led off the frame with a single and eventually scored on a Colin Harrington ground out.

The BlueSox went on to leave the bases loaded in the third, but Siegel blasted a two-out, two-run homer to right in the fourth frame. That shot gave Butler the lead it never lost.

The left-handed hitting Siegel added a towering two-run homer to right in the eighth inning, providing the BlueSox with some insurance tallies.“Ryan has all the talent needed to be a great baseball player,” Rebyanski said. “He just needs to relax and trust his abilities.“What I liked most about the game tonight is that after his first home run, he hit a line drive to right (for a triple) in his next at-bat.”During his eighth-inning at-bat, Siegel hammered a pitch off the right-field wall, about five feet foul. Two pitches later, he connected for his second home run.“I kept pulling his (Slider reliever Danny Ossiginac) fastball foul,” Siegel said. “I guessed he'd throw me a changeup and I got it. I was able to turn on the ball and drive it.“This felt good tonight ... real good. I needed this and our team needed this game. The air felt good tonight. A lot of balls were being hit hard.”Villanova University product Kevin MacLachlan got the win, striking out eight and allowing four hits in six innings of work. He did not walk a batter.“That's what made it tough on us,” Sliders manager Andy Chalot said. “We had to earn everything we got. He threw strikes and gave us no free passes.”MacLachlan made four appearances out of the bullpen before returning to the starting rotation. He took a 1-3 record and 5.16 ERA into the game.“K-Mac promised me he'd be back in the rotation and said he would deliver,” Rebyanski said.Wes Rich and Brian Thompson combined to work three scoreless innings of relief to close out the win.Trent Wooldridge and Chris Vopinek had two singles each for the Sliders. Wooldridge reached base eight consecutive times over two games before grounding out in the eighth. Vopinek took a .118 batting average into the game.“This race is going to stay tight,” Chalot said. “Any one of four teams could take it. I'll be surprised if it doesn't come down to the final day.”The BlueSox won the season series from the Sliders, 7-5, though Slippery Rock won five of the seven meetings between the teams in July.<B>Slippery Rock 101 000 000 — 2 7 2Butler BlueSox 001 210 02x — 6 7 1W:</B> Kevin MacLachlan 6 IP (8K, 0BB). <B>L:</B> Donovan Feenstra 4.1 IP (3K, 4BB).<B>Slippery Rock (10-8):</B> Trent Wooldridge 2-1B, Jon Capasso 1B, Fred Ford 2B, Radley Haddad 2B, Chris Vopinek 2-1B, Michael Durham RBI<B>Butler (9-9):</B> Colin Harrington 3B RBI, Matt Berezo 1B, Stephen Vranka 1B, Jon Danielczyk 1B 2-R, Ryan Siegel 2-HR 3B 4-RBI<B>Today:</B> Butler at Richmond, DeKalb County at Slippery Rock, 7:05 p.m.<B><I><U></B></U></I>

Slippery Rock's Trent Wooldridge breaks a bat during a Sliders' loss to the BlueSox at Pullman Park on Tuesday. He collected a pair of hits on the night and reached base in eight consecutive plate appearances over two games until being retired late in Tuesday's game.