BUTLER TWP — Facing an undefeated team, the Butler Township 16-under Colt squad was unfazed.

Butler edged the PBA Sabercats — a traveling team from Ohio — by a 2-1 margin in eight innings to clinch the No. 1 seed at the North Coast Elite baseball tournament and proved it was no fluke by beating the Sabercats 3-2 in the championship.

“Those were the first two losses for that team and they go to tournaments every weekend,” said Butler coach John Baranchak. “That team was put together with kids from like an hour-and-a-half radius of eastern and northeastern Ohio.”

Butler — which begins the double-elimination Colt Section playoffs Friday in Boardman, Ohio — is composed of 11 athletes who played on the Butler High School varsity or junior varsity teams this year.

Team members include Luke Baranchak, Nick Delano, Garrett Goslaw, Mark Gross, Alex Harrison, Jeremy Moorhead, Nick Reamer, Lake Sankey, Jesse Savisky, Connor Thomas and Reid Werth.

“We were one of the few teams — maybe the only team — there that was a league team,” said Baranchak. “We did pretty well.”

That might be an understatement considering Butler gave up a total of nine runs en route to a 5-0 record. The tournament in Akron, Ohio featured 12 teams and ran from June 28-30.

Baranchak, who has been coaching for about 15 years, called the 2-1 win over the Sabercats “one of the most exciting games I’ve ever been a part of.

“It was just an intense game. There was definitely some rivalry there,” he elaborated. “Their pitcher was probably 6-2, 220 and was trying to intimidate our guys, staring them down and talking to them after every pitch and every out.

“Our guys definitely took offense to it and rose to the occasion.”

Butler walked off with the victory after delivering a hit with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning.

After defeating the Sabercats a second time and claiming the title, there wasn’t a particular player who made the difference for Butler.

“This was truly a team victory,” said Baranchak. “Everybody contributed huge at one point or another, whether it was a clutch hit, a clutch defensive play or innings pitched.”

The team has been playing together for the past “four or five years” according to Baranchak and attends one or two tournaments each summer.

Butler also earned a championship at a tournament in Cincinnati last year.

But after the departure of two key players, it was a struggle for Butler to field a team this year.

“I know a lot of parents put in a lot of hard work and long hours. We actually got into the league at the last minute,” said Baranchak. “We were dead set on doing whatever we could to keep the team together for the benefit of the high school program and the benefit of the kids, also.”

The Butler High varsity baseball team struggled this spring, but gaining experience over the summer could pay dividends next season.

“I think it’s a huge benefit. The more they can play together and the more cohesiveness there is, it just carries over to the high school program,” said Baranchak. “I think the team has definitely grown and learned that they can’t just show up to a game and expect to win. You have to come prepared.”

Butler went 11-4 in the Greater Pittsburgh Federation Junior Colt league and hopes to win a series of double-elimination tournaments in the Colt playoffs.

The team must win the Section tournament to reach the Super Region tourney in Struthers, Ohio; the Zone tourney in Greensboro, N.C. is the next phase; and the Colt World Series in Lafayette, Ind. represents the ultimate goal.

“We won our last four league games and won that tournament,” said Baranchak. “We’re definitely looking for some success there in at least a couple of rounds.”