BECKLEY, W.Va. — James Meeker was ready to go home. Doing so after a win makes a five-hour bus trip much more enjoyable.

Meeker’s single with two out in the top of the ninth inning gave Butler a one-run lead and eventual 5-4 win over the West Virginia Miners in Game 1 of the Prospect League East Division series Sunday at Linda K. Epling Stadium.

Meeker lined a 1-2 pitch from Miners closer Chris Metrick into left field. Eddy Gonzalez had trouble getting a handle on the ball and Calvin Scott scored from second. Scott had reached on a bleeder between first and second with two out, then stole second before Meeker’s go-ahead hit.

That capped off a 3-for-5 day for Meeker, who also drove in three runs. His .357 average led the BlueSox in the regular season.

“It was really a well-played game,” the 6-foot-4 third baseman said. “They had a bunch of big hits and so did we. ... I just beared down. I really didn’t want to play extra innings, so I swung at anything that was close. Lucky enough, I got that one.”

“Meeks has been an all-around good hitter for us,” Butler manager Cody Herald said. “He’s just one of those kids, no matter what the situation calls for, he’s just calm. He barely shows emotion.

“You can tell when some people are tense by the way they hold the bat. He just kind of goes up clean and easy, throw me a pitch away and I’ll just poke it over the shortstop. He does a really good job with it.”

Derek West pitched around Justin Mitchell’s two-out double in the bottom of the ninth to get the win. Colby Johnson engaged West in a 10-pitch battle before striking out to end it.

Not until that final out did it feel like the Miners were out of it.

They took a 2-1 lead in the third on an RBI single by Gonzalez and an RBI fielder’s choice for Dan Ward. The BlueSox got to Miners starter Brandon Nylin for three runs in the top of the sixth, but the Miners answered with two in the bottom half to tie it at 4-4 and turn it into a three-inning game.

Everything between and around that, seemed to go in the Miners’ favor.

Butler had runners on the corners with one out in the top of the seventh when Miners third baseman John Hagan made a sliding catch in front of his dugout to retire Meeker. Shawn Dumser Jr., who relieved Nylin in the sixth, struck out Rey Gonzalez to end the inning.

Brady Gulakowski led off the eighth with a double off the wall in the right-center field gap. He took third on Patrick Ferguson’s groundout to second before Metrick took the mound.

Metrick struck out Justin Kirkpatrick and went 0-2 on Ben Carew before Carew was taken out with an apparent hand injury. Damian Maglione popped out to Metrick to strand Gulakowski at third.

Things even looked good for the Miners in the ninth.

With one out, Pavin Parks lined a pitch off the wall in left-center. But he rounded too far at second and was caught in a mini-rundown and was tagged out at third for the second out.

Scott and Meeker then delivered in the clutch to put Butler one win away from the Prospect League Championship Series.

The Miners have not been as dominant this season as in the past. Herald, a former player for the BlueSox, has seen this before.

“We knew when we were coming in, look, they always have a great team,” Herald said. “I told (the players), ‘Listen, they are going to be a completely different team when it comes to the playoffs. They are going to do whatever they have to do to win.’ And they showed it. It was a battle constantly. ... It’s funny. The baseball gods must have been on our side.”

Nylin, who tied for the league lead in regular-season wins with six, pitched well before falling apart in the sixth. He finished with six strikeouts and no walks while allowing eight hits and four earned runs.

“It’s kind of hard to put a grasp on a game where you play well (and lose),” Miners manager Tim Epling said. “You didn’t make the pitch or you didn’t make the plays in those crucial situations. ... When the ball hits your glove, you’ve got to make plays in slippery situations. I really think our guys played hard, but, to be honest with you, there are times when you have to go after it.

“The prime example is Colby’s last at-bat. Colby gets up there and gets 0-2 on him, fights like the Dickens to go 2-2, fouls off about three or four. He strikes out, but I take that as an example as what you’ve got to do in crucial situations.”

Scott was 4-for-5 for the BlueSox. West got the win in two innings of relief. He struck out four while allowing two hits.

“I know Cody and (Josh) Forbes, our coaches, played here, and they talk to us about past years, and the owners have talked to us,” Meeker said. “We know we have a good team and think this could be the year that we could finally do something special.”

As for the Miners, the objective is clear — win two on the road or they will part ways for the summer. Game 2 is today at 6:35 p.m. at Kelly Automotive Park in Butler. If necessary, Game 3 is set for Tuesday at the same time.