On the cusp of their first-ever Prospect League playoff appearance, the Butler BlueSox ran into Jake Eikleberry.

Slippery Rock’s southpaw shut down Butler’s offense, striking out eight and walking none in a complete game, as the Sliders closed the 2013 season with a 4-0 win Sunday evening at Pullman Park.

Saturday’s league action, which included Slippery Rock’s 7-5 win over Butler and Chillicothe’s 10-4 triumph at Lorain County, meant the BlueSox held a one-half game lead over the Paints entering Sunday for the final playoff spot from the league’s East Division.

Chillicothe capped its regular season with a 1-0, 11-inning win over Lorain County in the afternoon, so Butler manager Anthony Rebyanski knew his team needed a win to extend its season. But in the end, the Paints’ two wins over the weekend, coupled with Butler’s two losses, was just enough to knock the BlueSox out of postseason play.

“I’m not going to lie, I didn’t think things would turn out this way,” Rebyanski said. “We were loose before today’s game, just like we have been all year.”

Butler had a game at Lorain County rained out Friday and it will not be made up. Even if the contest were to be played and Butler wins, the BlueSox would lose a tiebreaker to Chillicothe (34-26).

Butler totaled eight hits in Sunday’s game and stranded seven runners on base, including four in scoring position.

“I was able to locate my first-pitch fastball on both sides of the plate,” said Eikleberry. “We just wanted to finish the season by playing good baseball. Our defense was outstanding today. Nothing gets past our shortstop (Tom Crimi).”

Crimi started a pair of 6-4-3 double plays that put an end to Butler threats in the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings. He also turned in several solo highlights, which included robbing Pat McCarthy of a base hit with a diving catch of a line drive in the sixth frame.

“We were hitting and they (Sliders) were hitting,” said Butler High School graduate and BlueSox outfielder Cody Herald, who went 1-for-4 in Sunday’s loss. “I just think a few more things went their way tonight.”

The Sliders scored the game’s first run in the top of the second when Max McDowell came home on a throwing error. But it was the third frame that took the wind out of Butler’s sails.

With a second run already scored, Matt Calhoun launched a two-run home run over the rightfield wall. The blast also scored Crimi and put the Sliders (28-32) up 4-0.

“That was huge,” said Slippery Rock manager Brett Neffendorf. “Matt’s the best hitter in this league and hits for average (.358) and power (seven home runs). His at-bats this year have been tremendous.”

Rebyanski saw the two-run home run, which came off of Butler starter and losing pitcher Robert Hawkins, from a different point of view.

“It was deflating,” he said. “It was a 1-2 fastball over the heart of the plate. You can’t make that pitch to a power hitter.”

Also pitching for Butler was Reid Noah (three innings) and Anthony Battaglia (one), who combined to work four scoreless frames.

Despite the disappointing end to the season, Rebyanski will remember the 2013 campaign as a special one. It yielded a 33-26 record, tied with 2012 for the most successful season in franchise history.

“This is one of the best teams I’ve ever been involved with,” he said. “The guys handled themselves well on and off the field. We had a lot of turnover this year, but the guys hung in there. I know that they are all proud to say they wore a Butler BlueSox uniform.”

Slippery Rock 013 000 000 — 4 12 1

Butler 000 000 000 — 0 8 1

W: Jake Eikleberry 9 IP (8K, 0BB). L: Robert Hawkins 5+ IP (1K, 2BB).

Slippery Rock (28-32): Cooper Mickelson 1B, Matt Calhoun HR 2RBI, Connor McCallum 1B, Aaron Lindgren 1B, Grant Zawadski 1B, Dan Palazzo 2-1B 3B R, Tom Crimi 3-1B R RBI

Butler (33-26): Cody Herald 1B, Ryan Fitzgerald 2-1B, Josh Forbes 1B, Alex Jurich 2-1B, Zarley Zalewski 1B 3B