The thunder sticks were making plenty of noise Saturday night at Kelly Automotive Park.

The Butler BlueSox' sticks weren't exactly quiet, either.

Stuart Levy delivered a two-out, two-run double in the first inning and Butler High graduate Cody Herald contributed a two-out, two-run single in the fifth to propel the BlueSox to an 8-1 Prospect League victory over the Champion City Kings.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak — all on the road — for the BlueSox.

“It was good to get back home. We feel comfortable here,” Herald said. “And the crowd was great tonight.”

The crowd of 551 often made use of thunder sticks they received as a promotional item on Butler Eagle Night.

“The atmosphere is always good here,” Butler manager Anthony Rebyanski said. “Walks hurt us on this last road trip and we didn't get many clutch hits.

“Tonight, we threw strikes and got ahead of hitters. Those two-out RBI hits are always big. They pick everybody up.”

While Levy and Herald handed the BlueSox a 4-0 lead, starting pitcher Justin Taylor needed no more help from there.

The right-hander from California (Pa.) University tossed seven scoreless innings, scattering five hits. He walked only one batter and threw 64 of his 93 pitches for strikes.

“All three of my pitches were working tonight,” Taylor said. “Getting an early lead to work with helps, too.

“This was my first win of the year, so it feels really good.”

Taylor is sporting a 1.08 earned run average for the BlueSox — allowing three earned runs in 25 innings — but received three no-decisions before winning Saturday.

“J.T. did what we weretalking about, getting ahead in the count and not walking people,” Rebyanski said. “He did an outstanding job. An effort like that saves your pitching for a couple of games.”

Alex Martin worked the final two innings for Butler, striking out two. Champion City avoided the shutout when Jake Bennett tripled to center to open the ninth and scored on Daniel Jewett's single.

Bennett, sixth in the Prospect League with a .352 batting average, led the Kings with three hits.

“Their guy (Taylor) got ahead in the count and did a good job of making us hit his pitches,” Champion City manager Brett Neffendorf said. “Our starter pitched well, too. They just dug in and got some clutch hits against him.”

Marcus Reyes, one of four players on the Kings' roster from San Diego State, where the late Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn coached, struck out five in 4.2 innings. He threw 54 of his 83 pitches for strikes in making his second appearance fior Champion City.

Herald had two singles and three RBI for the BlueSox. His RBI single capped a four-run rally in the seventh inning. The uprising was fueled by a pair of Champion City errors. Stephen Sada doubled and scored three runs for the BlueSox.

Herald upped his batting average to .280, second to Collin Massanelli's .351 among Butler's regulars.

“I'm seeing the ball better and just going with the pitch,” Herald said. “I'm in a bit of a groove right now.”

Neffendorf managed the Slippery Rock Sliders last season. The franchise was sold to ownership in Springfield, Ohio, during the offseason.

“Slippery Rock was good to us, but Springfield is a much bigger city and they've been very supportive,” Neffendorf said. “We've had 1,000 people at games and we're averaging close to 800. It's fun.”

Mars High School graduate David Bednar struck out 12, did not walk a batter and allowed just four hits in seven innings to lift the BlueSox to a 3-1 win over visiting Lorain County Sunday evening.

Bednar struck out the first six batters he faced and now has an ERA of 1.64.

Dan Kopcak pitched the final two innings, allowing a run in the eighth, to earn the save. He struck out five, giving Butler 17 strikeouts in the game.

Herald singled, doubled and had one RBI while Grove City High graduate Jeff Revesz singled and scored a run.

Champion City 000 000 001 — 1 7 3

Butler BlueSox 200 020 40x — 8 9 2

W:Justin Taylor 7IP (3K, 1BB). L: Marcus Reyes 4.2IP (5K, 1BB).

Champion City (11-9): Chris Perkovich 1B, Jake Bennett 2-1B 3B, Daniel Jewett 1B RBI, Landon Lucansky 1B, Brent Hermanussen 1B

Butler BlueSox (12-9): Stephen Sada 2B 3-R, Forrest Perron 1B, Cody Herald 2-1B 3-RBI, Stuart Levy 1B 2B 2-RBI, Zac LaNeve 2B, Collin Massanelli 2B, Russell Clark 1B 2-R

Tuesday: Butler at Champion City