WEXFORD — A quick start was just enough for North Allegheny.

The Tigers scored two runs in the first inning Friday night and made them hold up for a 2-1 baseball victory over Butler at North Allegheny High School.

Chris Helkowski outdueled Tornado ace Mick Fennell to earn the win on the mound. The NA right-hander threw 85 pitches, scattered three hits, walked one and struck out four over six innings.

“We've had our struggles in non-section play,” said NA coach Andy Maddix, whose team improved to 4-6 overall and 2-1 in Section 1-AAAA. “Our senior pitcher Chris Helkowski really lifted his teammates up with a real solid outing.”

Butler couldn't muster a hit until Dalton Koebler led off the top of the fifth with a single up the middle. He eventually came around to score on a two-out RBI base knock from Tom Bruce, which cut the Tornado deficit to 2-1.

However, Helkowski stranded a runner on second in the sixth inning with back-to-back strikeouts and Patrick Mittereder closed out the Tornado in the seventh despite a one-out single from Matt Baranchak.

“It was a tough one. It definitely felt like we were pressing,” said Butler coach Todd Erdos. “Trying not to lose instead of playing to win was kind of the theme tonight.”

It was the second loss in as many days for the Tornado (6-2, 2-2) and spoiled a stellar performance from Fennell. The Butler right-hander struck out nine, walked two and allowed five hits in a 95-pitch outing.

The Tigers jumped on Fennell early as George Marsico led off the first with a single before Jimmy Divosec belted a 1-2 pitch to right-center field for a two-out RBI triple. Sean Fitzgerald followed with an RBI double to right field just out of reach from a diving David Tompkins.

“Fennell is a very good pitcher, so when you have a chance to get anything, you have to get it,” said Maddix. “He settled in and we didn't get anything the rest of the day.”

Butler fans were left groaning after a couple of two-strike pitches were called balls.

“He pitched an excellent game, battled to the end,” said Erdos of Fennell. “We had a couple of pitches that didn't go our way early in that first inning that I think truly cost us.

“After that, he settled down and kept us right where we needed to be,” Erdos continued. “We had several opportunities to either tie the game or take the lead with a hit here or there and we just couldn't get the job done.”

Maddix sensed Butler was starting to get a feel for Helkowski, which factored into his decision to bring in Mittereder for the final three outs.

“He started to lose velocity, too. It's still early in the season and he was definitely tiring,” the NA coach explained. “We went to someone else because we wanted someone fresh and give them a different look.”

Koebler led off the seventh with a deep, but harmless flyout to center field before Baranchak singled up the middle. He moved to second on a groundout by Dante Dorcy and Mittereder induced a grounder back to the mound from Bruce to finish off the win.

“He's another senior. He's a tough kid,” said Maddix of Mittereder. “He went out there, threw strikes and luckily they hit the ball at our guys and we were able to get the outs.”

Butler began the season with six straight wins before suffering a 4-0 loss to Shaler Thursday and Friday's defeat to NA. Erdos believes his team will bounce back, though.

“I think the kids are just trying a little too hard,” Erdos explained. “They're trying to make things happen instead of letting things happen.

“We'll be back. We're down a little bit right now, but we're not out by any means,” he added. “Our kids are confident and they want to get back out there.”

Butler 000 010 0 — 1 4 0North Allegheny 200 000 x — 2 5 0W: Chris Helkowski 6 IP (4K, 1BB).

L: Mick Fennell 6 IP (9K, 2BB).

S: Patrick Mittereder 1 IP (0K, 0BB).

Butler: Mick Fennell 1B; Dalton Koebler 1B, R; Matt Baranchak 1B; Tom Bruce 1B, RBI.

North Allegheny: George Marsico 2-1B, R; Mitch Machi 1B; Jimmy Divosec 3B, R, RBI; Sean Fitzgerald 2B, RBI.

Saturday: Riverside vs. Butler at Pullman Park, 1 p.m.