The Butler BlueSox took a big step toward a playoff berth with an 8-1 win at Lorain County Friday night.

The win, coupled with a West Virginia loss, put the BlueSox 3.5 games up on the Miners in the Prospect League East Division second-half standings.

Butler (22-6) has four games remaining while West Virginia (18-9) has three.

That guarantees the BlueSox at least a share of the East title and a magic number of 1 — one win in the final four games by Butler or one loss by West Virginia in its final three games will result in a Butler second-half division title and a playoff berth.

Butler (37-19 overall) is only 1.5 games ahead of West Virginia (36-21) in the overall standings. Should the two teams tie, overall record is the tiebreaker and the Miners would win the division.

To get one step closer to the playoffs, Adam Bleday pitched seven strong innings, striking out six and walking four, to get the win.

Ryan Hanahan had three hits and Butler High School graduate Cody Herald went 2-for-5 and drove in a run for the BlueSox, who put the game out of reach with a three-run top of the eighth.

Butler was scheduled to play Lorain County again at 7:05 p.m. Saturday before returning home to face Champion City at 7:05 p.m. Sunday.