BUTLER TWP — Butler Township had its hands full the first time it faced Clarion.

On Tuesday, it left nothing to chance.

Having edged Clarion 7-5 in the District 25 semifinals playoff for ages 9-10 last week, Butler Township used a three-run first inning and never relented in a 16-3, four-inning victory in the championship game at Adelman Field.

With the win, Butler Township (3-0) will advance to the sectional next Tuesday against DuBois.

“It was great,” said Butler Township manager Rob Metzger. “It really eased the kids. They were tentative in warmups. It was nice, they got the lead and it calmed them down.

“It's the first time we started hitting the ball. The first couple of games we didn't. The big thing was it got their confidence building,” Metzger added.

Butler Township pounded out 15 hits while Clarion committed seven errors along the way.

“We didn't field the ball well,” said Clarion manager Garrett Goheen. “We just missed one after another. We threw it here, we threw it there. ... The wheels just came off.”

It started early in the first as Grant Metzger singled and moved to third on an error. Marshall Wheeler lined an RBI single that also resulted in an error as he advanced to third base.

Tate Mohney and John Ryan Herold added two-out RBI singles to give Butler Township the 3-0 lead.

Clarion put runners on second and third with two outs, but Butler Township starter Wheeler got Curvin Goheen to ground out.

In the second inning, a fielder's choice, a sacrifice fly by Wheeler and an error helped extend Butler Township's lead to 6-0.

“Our first game, we didn't throw the ball around so much,” said Goheen. “We're an experienced team.”

Butler Township broke it open in the third inning when it plated eight runs on seven hits to take a 14-0 lead.

John Piroch and Mohney had RBI singles, Metzger a two-run single and Wheeler an RBI double to highlight the frame.

“The nice thing is we started hitting and we wanted to force (Clarion) to make plays,” said Metzger. “Everyone contributed.”

Clarion broke through in the bottom of the third inning when

Colby Himes scored on an error, then Conner added a two-out, two-run double by Sterling Conner.

Metzger added a two-run double in the top of the fourth to close out the scoring.

Clarion did get runners on base, but it stranded all four of its runners in scoring position and had another picked off trying to move to third.

“We represent Clarion County, and we'll show up. We've got Clarion on the front of our jerseys” said Goheen. “One of the guys on the team said, ‘We need four runs (in the fourth inning) to extend the game. We're not going to quit.'

“Realistically, were we coming back? No. these kids have played enough ball to know, but they weren't going to quit,” Goheen added.

Notes: Butler Township had defeated Franklin 4-2 before defeating Clarion in the semifinals and finals. ... Clarion's two losses came at the hands of Butler Township. It had defeated East Butler and Franklin. ... Six Butler players had at least one hit and one RBI.

Butler Twp. 338 2xx x — 16 15 1Clarion 003 0xx x — 3 5 7W: Marshall Wheeler 2.1 IP (3K, 3BB).

L: Sterling Conner 2.1 IP (3K, 0BB).

Butler Twp. (3-0): Jake Slomers 1B, RBI; Grant Metzger 2-1B, 2B, 4 RBI; Marshall Wheeler 1B, 2B, 3 RBI; Tate Mohney 2-1B, 2 RBI; John Ryan Herold 3-1B, RBI; Luke Patten 2B; Kevin King 2B; John Piroch 2-1B, RBI

Clarion (2-2): Ian Callen 2-2B; Sterling Conner 1B, 2B, 2 RBI; Skylar Rhoades 1B

Next: Sectionals-Butler Twp. at DuBois, time to be determined