BUTLER TWP — Butler pitcher Connor Ollio was masterful again.

But so was Central Catholic pitch Drew Cebulak.

The two right-handers dueled for seven innings Wednesday night at Butler High School, combining to strike out 15 and give up five hits.

But the Vikings’ offense scratched just enough, scoring twice in the top of the sixth inning without hitting a ball out of the infield for a 2-1 win over the Golden Tornado.

“Ollio’s unbelievable,” said Central coach Pat Walsh. “We were hoping to get a hit and then maybe scratch out a run or two.”

That’s just what the Vikings did to keep their season alive.

Ollio, though, gave up just three singles to Central.

A walk and a hit batter doomed him in the top of the sixth.

After an unsuccessful sacrifice attempt gave Ollio an out, he uncorked a wild pitch that moved the runners to second and third.

Brandon Boyce then followed with an infield single to plate the first run.

The second run scored on a rundown play.

Butler answered with a run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Sam Gross, but Cebulak picked off Gross at first to end the inning.

Gross tried to stay in a rundown long enough for Ollio to score from third, but was tagged out before Ollio could cross the plate.

Butler coach Todd Erdos lamented his team couldn’t sneak that run across.

“The game was kind of playing that way with the way that this field was playing with the high grass and both pitchers keeping the ball on the ground,” Erdos said. “There wasn’t a lot of balls hit in the air. Late in a game like that, you feel like something’s going to happen to get a run across and unfortunately, they took advantage of it and sneaked an extra run across when we couldn’t.”

Neither team had many chances before the sixth.

Butler put two guys on in the first inning with one out, but Ollio hit a grounder up the middle that was killed by the thick grass and turned into a 6-3 double play.

The Golden Tornado didn’t get their first hit until the fifth.

Central Catholic only had three baserunners through the first five innings.

The Vikings’ defense played a big part in the win, especially in the seventh.

Catcher Vinny Rauso hopped out from behind the plate to field a tapper by Jacob Keene and threw him out by a step.

Third baseman Austin Vigliotti charged a slow grounder by Alec Bayer and threw him out by a step for the second out.

And shortstop Andrew Walker made a difficult scoop and throw on another slow roller off the bat of Jefferson Ford for the final out.

“If you go back to the last play of the sixth, we made four exceptional plays in the field,” Walsh said. “To beat a team as talented as Butler tonight, we needed to be exceptional.”

The win keeps Central alive. The loss isn’t a backbreaker for Butler.

The Golden Tornado are still in the playoffs with a road win over Seneca Valley Friday.

“It’s still in our own hands,” Erdos said. “If we win, we’re definitely in. It’s always nice to have it in your hands. We have a good ballclub. We’ve been resilient all year. I would expect us to come out and put our best foot forward on Friday.”

Central Catholic 000 002 0 — 2 3 0

Butler 000 001 0 — 1 2 0

W: Drew Cebulak 7IP (6K, 5BB). L: Connor Ollio 7IP (9K, 2BB).

Central Catholic (9-7, 4-5): BrandonBoyce 1B RBI, Austin Vigliotti 1B, Anthony Casciato 1B

Butler (10-6, 4-5): Sam Gross 1B RBI, Alec Bayer 1B

Friday: Butler at Seneca Valley