BUTLER TWP — Butler had a 5-1 lead in the top of the sixth inning, but Fox Chapel rallied for three runs to cut the gap to 5-4 with one out and a runner on third.

Two outs later and a Foxes' baserunner stranded on third, the Golden Tornado still had a one-run lead —and the Foxes right where they wanted them.

Butler baseball has had an uncanny knack of winning the tight games this season. Nick Reamer relieved starter Mark Gross in the seventh inning and struck out two in picking up a save as the Golden Tornado remained perfect in the section with a 5-4 win at Butler High School Thursday night.

“This team has built the confidence through the year,” said Butler coach Todd Erdos of his club, which has now scratched out seven one-run victories this season. “They feel confident in these close games and they feel confident they are going to go out and win these games.”

Butler (10-2, 7-0) struggled against Fox Chapel starter Jacob Pilarski in the first three innings. The Foxes' sophomore right-hander, using a sharp-breaking curve ball to go with a sneaky fastball and cutter, had a no-hitter heading into the fourth inning.

But Pilarski's bugaboo this season has been with his command and it haunted him again in the fourth inning as he walked four, including Kyle Campbell with the bases loaded to tie the game at 1-1, and then gave up an infield single to Jesse Savisky to give the Tornado a 2-1 lead.

Pilarski walked the leadoff batter in the fifth and was pulled. It was his seventh base on balls of the game.

Butler tacked on three runs against reliever Josh Dunlap to take a 5-1 lead.

“Jacob is only a sophomore. He's started for us for two years,” said Fox Chapel coach Michael Frank. “We rely on him. He's had better nights than tonight. He started to lose his sharpness on his pitches in the fourth inning and it came back to bite him.”

Fox Chapel (5-7, 1-6) rallied to threaten the Butler lead in the top of the sixth inning thanks to a two-run double by Daniel Vargo and a RBI double by Zach Burkhart.

But Gross induced a pair of groundouts to escape the jam.

Reamer, a left-hander, closed it out.

“He's done a tremendous job all year,” Erdos said of Reamer. “We have a lot of confidence in him as a coaching staff in putting him out there in a one-run game late. If he's out there throwing strikes with that natural movement he has on that two-seam and four-seam fastball that tails away, and he's throwing that breaking ball for a strike, he's tough to hit.”

Butler beat Fox Chapel earlier in the season 1-0 in nine innings.

As good as the Tornado have been in close contests, Fox Chapel has struggled. The Foxes have lost four one-run games, all in section play.

“The talent is there. We're just on the other side of the one-run games whereas Butler has made a habit of winning them,” Frank said. “It's tough. It's the breaks of baseball.”

Butler has all but wrapped up a playoff spot with three section games remaining.

Erdos said his club isn't satisfied.

“We set out goals before the season,” Erdos said. “Obviously, making the playoffs is a huge step. But the next step is getting that section title and our kids seem pretty determined to try to make that happen.”

Fox Chapel 100 003 0 — 4 9 0

Butler 000 230 x — 5 4 1

W: Mark Gross 6IP (3K, 1BB). L: Jacob Pilarski 4IP (6K, 7BB). SV: Nick Reamer 1IP (2K, 0BB)

Fox Chapel (5-7, 1-6): Josh Anderson 3-1B, Greg Yarsich 1B, Daniel Vargo 1B 2-2B 3-RBI, Zach Burkhart 2B RBI, Pilarski 1B

Butler (10-2, 7-0): Logan Maxwell 1B, Nick Patten 2B RBI, Ryan Vero 1B 2-RBI, Kyle Campbell RBI, Jesse Savisky 1B RBI

Friday: Butler at Norwin