It was a case of too little, too late for the Butler BlueSox Tuesday night.

A pair of home runs from Alex Miklos and Elliott Caldwell in the bottom of the seventh and ninth, respectively, helped pull Butler to within two runs of visiting Chillicothe, but that’s where the rally ended as the Paints prevailed 7-5 in Prospect League baseball action at Pullman Park.

Chillicothe reliever Mike Dodakian, who entered the game at the start of the eighth inning, recorded the first two outs of the ninth before Brendan Costantino walked ahead of Caldwell’s home run. Dodakian then struck out Kyle Petty to end the game.

Chillicothe finished the first half of the league schedule with an 18-12 record, but the Paints entered Tuesday’s game at a so-so 5-6 in the second half and four games back of first-place Butler in the East Division.

“We were 0-4 in this ballpark before tonight,” said Paints manager Greg Cypret. “Butler is a great team with good hitters and good pitching. It was great for us to win tonight.”

The Sox trailed 7-1 after six and a half innings before Miklos’ blast that led off the seventh. Later in the inning, Caldwell lifted a sacrifice fly that scored Gavin Meyer to make it 7-3.

Butler had unfulfilled scoring chances earlier in the game that came back to haunt the team.

In the bottom of the second inning, the Sox had runners at first and second with one out, but a 4-6-3 double play ended the threat.

In the third frame, Meyer singled and Costantino walked. Both players stole a base to put runners at second and third with no outs.

But Paints starting pitcher Chris Thomas retired the next three batters in order with no runs crossing the plate.

“We had been hitting the ball well in situations like that,” said Butler assistant coach Adam Jury. “But not scoring when we had second and third with no outs, that really hurt us tonight.”

Meanwhile, Chillicothe received a pair of solo home runs from Aaron Hopper in the second and fourth innings. Both round-trippers came against Butler starter Dave Yakopec, who was pulled after one out in the fifth. Before he left the mound, however, Paints left fielder Dan Zuchowski hit a two-run bomb in the fifth, pushing his team’s lead to 5-0.

“Their home runs put a lot of pressure on us,” said Jury. “We weren’t able to respond.”

Thomas pitched six innings and ended up getting the win. He struck out five, walked one and allowed just one run — Costantino’s sacrifice fly plated Miklos in the fifth — on six hits.

On a hot and humid evening, Thomas gave his team just what it needed.

“We were hoping for six innings out of him,” said Cypret. “He’s been one of our most reliable pitchers this season. He was able to keep his pitch count down.”

Caldwell was a bright spot for the BlueSox, going 3-for-4 and raising his batting average to .402.

“He can play the infield and the outfield,” said Jury of Caldwell. “He can steal bases for us and also hit for power. He can do it all.”

Notes: Ryan Wilkinson (1 2-3 innings) and John Rossi (three) both pitched in relief for Butler. ... In the middle of the third inning, Butler resident Andy Hilliard was honored on the field for his lifetime of commitment to Butler sports and to Pullman Park, which has included countless volunteer hours. ... Butler manager Anthony Rebyanski was not available for comment.

Chillicothe 110 140 000 — 7 11 4Butler 000 010 202 — 5 9 1W: Chris Thomas 6IP (5K, 1BB). L: Dave Yakopec 4.1IP (5K, 1BB).Chillicothe (6-6): Kevin Zak 2-1B 2B R, Dan Zuchowski HR 2RBI, Giancarlo Brugnoni 1B RBI, Nick Lombardi R, Matt Fisher 1B 2B R, Aaron Hopper 2HR, Ryan Cypret 2-1B 2RBI, Vinnie Booker RButler (9-3): Brendan Costantino R RBI, Elliott Caldwell 1B 2B HR 3RBI, George Roberts 1B 2B, Matt Albaugh 1B, Alex Miklos 1B HR 2R, Gavin Meyer 1B RToday: Chillicothe at Butler, 6:35 p.m.