SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock manager Shawn Pynn smiled and checked his pulse.

Yep, still beating.

The Sliders built up a seven-run lead entering the ninth inning before Chillicothe rallied for six runs, stranding the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the Sliders’ 11-10 Prospect League victory Tuesday at Jack Critchfield Park.

“That last inning, they got six runs but just two hits,” Pynn said. “They came into the inning with 10 hits and finished with 12. That shows how important it is to pound the strike zone.”

The Sliders (9-16) took advantage of eight Chillicothe walks, including three off reliever Jack Quigley, to open the seventh inning before Dan Hurlimann smacked a two-run double that gave the Sliders an 8-4 lead. Two more runs came across in the frame off wild pitches by to make it a 10-4 count.

“They did a great job,” said Paints manager Greg Cypret. “Obviously, we didn’t throw too many strikes. I was proud of my guys at the end, but if we do a better job, we stay in the game earlier.”

An RBI single by Pat Gelwicks in the eighth inning gave the Sliders a seemingly comfortable seven-run cushion.

Then the Paints benefitted from the Sliders not pounding the strike zone.

Jason Revesz opened the ninth inning by also walking the first three batters, then an error plated one run.

Marty Hustad entered and allowed a two-run double by Nick Lombardi. A walk to Aaron Hopper loaded the bases before Cody Gaertner popped out.

Hustad hit Vinnie Booker with a pitch to account for another run before Matt Deering entered and struck out Ryan Cypret on three pitches for the second out.

After jumping ahead of the count on Kevin Zak, he delivered a two-run single to pull the paints (14-11) to one run with runners on the corners.

Proving nothing comes easy, Deering got Dan Zuchowski to hit a hard grounder but the ball ricocheted off the pitcher’s mound, but right to a charging Drew Bryan at shortstop, who threw Zuchowski out at first to end the game.

The Sliders know what a epic comeback that could have been. They trailed Lorain 6-0 last weekend before surging back for the victory.

“Our hitting tonight was absolutely fantastic,” Pynn said. “The guys took advantage. The two-RBI hits were monstrous. Every time Chillicothe scored, we came back. That was huge.”

The Sliders had used a Trent Wooldridge RBI single and subsequent throwing error on the play to take a 2-0 lead in the second inning.

A fielder’s choice chance at home resulted in the Paints’ first run in the third inning, but the sliders countered with a RBI double by Gelwicks.

When the Paints received a sacrifice fly RBI by Giancarlo Brugnoni in the fifth inning, the Sliders answered with a solo home run by Pat Guinane to make it 4-2.

In the sixth, the Paints tied the game on a two-run homer by Gaertner, but once again, the Sliders responded with a two-run double by Wooldridge in the home half of the sixth inning to give them the lead for good, albeit a slim one at the end.

“Momentum is big,” Pynn said. “You see in that last inning. Things trickle down. You get guys on base and things start to happen ... We were able to get contributions from every one.”

The two teams will meet again Wednesday for a 1:05 p.m. start at Critchfield Park.

“We’ve struggled on the road a little bit and when you get behind early, you struggle,” Cypret said. “Hopefully, we can jump out on top and get to our bullpen the way we want to.”

Chillicothe 001 012 006 — 10 12 1

Slippery Rock 021 012 41x — 11 10 2

W: Zach Walsh 3 IP (1K, 0BB). L: Zach Wolfe 1.2 IP (1K, 1BB).

Chillicothe (14-11): Ryan Cypret 1B, RBI; Kevin Zak 1B, 2 RBI; Giancarlo Brugnoni 1B, RBI; Matt Fisher 2-1B; Nick Lombardi 1B, 2B, 2 RBI; Aaron Hooper 1B; Cody Gaertner 1B, HR, 2 RBI; Vinnie Booker 2-1B, RBI

Slippery Rock (9-16): Trent Wooldridge 1B, 2B, 3 RBI; Derek Peake 1B; Pat Guinane 2-1B; Pat Gelwicks 1B, 2B, HR, 3 RBI; Dan Hurlimann 2B, 2 RBI; Drew Bryan 1B

Today: Chillicothe at Slippery Rock, 1:05 p.m.

BlueSox fall

Adam Dian had been nearly untouchable this season for the Butler BlueSox.

But Jake Welch got to the BlueSox closer with a walk-off home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth as Richmond edged Butler 7-6.

It’s the third straight loss for the BlueSox, who fell three games behind West Virginia in the East Division standings.

The RiverRats scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to tie the game.

Kyle Petty had three hits and Eric Hess and Neal Jacobs each had two hits and two RBI for the BlueSox, who will play at Richmond again tonight.