EAST BUTLER — East Butler's offense didn't need any help in Thursday's Butler County legion baseball winner's bracket title game, but it received some anyway.

The team tallied 15 hits and also took advantage of 11 walks from Saxonburg's pitchers and four errors in the field to post a 19-5 victory at Speed-O Field.

Earning the king's seat in the double-elimination tournament, East Butler will rest until facing an opponent to be determined next Thursday.

“Winning this game gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the tournament,” said winning pitcher Jeremy Moorhead, who struck out 10 in a complete game. “I used my curveball to get a lot of strikeouts tonight.”

The two biggest highlights of East Butler's offense came from Bobby Coyle and Tanner Gilliland, who belted a three-run home run in the second inning and a grand slam in the sixth, respectively.

“Our offense was pretty potent at the start of the season, but it dropped off a bit in the middle of the year,” said Gilliland, who ended the night with five RBI. “Since the playoffs started, though, we've really been hitting the ball well.”

Saxonburg held a 3-1 lead after its half of the second inning, thanks to a throwing error that allowed Caleb Thorn to score and a two-run double from Hyte Eurich. But the team's woes in the field and on the mound surfaced in the bottom of the inning.

Eventual losing pitcher Zachary Junk walked Tyler Brown and Luke Slater to begin the frame, then served up the home run ball to Coyle. Two more walks and an error led to another two runs.

“The home runs tonight were two big daggers,” said East Butler manager Steve Armahizer. “We seemed to capitalize on their mistakes.”

Junk was pulled from the game after walking the first two batters of the third — Brown and Slater — who both scored on D.J. Osche's base hit off reliever Taylor Sharer later in the inning.

“We had one of our best pitchers on the mound tonight,” Saxonburg manager Mike Hickey said of Junk. “There were a few close calls that didn't go his way early and he got frustrated. Things went downhill from there. This is not Saxonburg baseball, that's for sure.”

Meanwhile, Moorhead was the steady presence on the mound that East Butler needed. The southpaw allowed five runs in the game, but only two were earned. He walked four, but stranded them all.

“We preach to our pitchers to let them hit the ball and allow the defense to make plays,” said Armahizer.

Gilliland's grand slam sparked a seven-run bottom of the sixth. It was his third hit of the game. In all, East Butler featured 10 players with at least one hit, 11 players with at least one run scored and six players with multiple RBI.

“Hitting really is contagious,” said Gilliland. “Everybody wants to hit the ball.”

Saxonburg's Dustin Montgomery and Spencer Voltz also saw time on the mound.

Saxonburg moves to the loser's bracket, where it will face the winner of Saturday's clash between Meridian and Valley, Tuesday at Laura Doerr Park.

Saxonburg 030 200 0 — 5 7 4

East Butler 153 307 x — 19 15 2

W: Jeremy Moorhead 7 IP (10K, 4BB). L: Zachary Junk 2+ IP (1K, 6BB).

Saxonburg: Jordan Hickey 1B R RBI, Hyte Eurich 2-2B 2RBI, Taylor Sharer 2B, Caleb Thorn 2B R, Sean Daugherty 1B 2R, Dustin Montgomery 2B R RBI

East Butler: Alex Seybert 1B 2B 3R 2RBI, Dustin Kepple 1B 2R 2RBI, Jake Stoner 2B R 2RBI, Tanner Gilliland 1B 2B HR 5RBI, Jeremy Moorhead 1B R, Tyler Brown 1B 2R, Luke Slater 2R, Bobby Coyle 1B HR 3RBI, D.J. Osche 2-1B 3R 3RBI, Dallas Hays 1B 2R, Logan Ruggles 1B R

Tuesday: Valley/Meridian winner vs. Saxonburg at Laura Doerr Park

Thursday: TBD vs. East Butler