BUTLER TWP— Dustin Uhlman got knocked down, then delivered the knockout.

The Butler junior right fielder was hit in the helmet by a fastball in the first inning of the Golden Tornado's 8-1 baseball triumph over North Hills Monday afternoon at Highfield Park.

He laid on the ground for a few minutes before getting to his feet.

"I was stunned a little bit and I couldn't hear anything out of my left ear,"Uhlman said. "I wanted to get up — I always want to get right back up after I'm hit, but the umpire told me to stay down."

Uhlman stayed in the game, only to depart later in the inning when he was tagged out at home while trying to score on a wild pitch.

"I aggravated a tendon injury in my finger on that play and wasn't sure if I could grip a bat or throw a ball,"Uhlman said.

Ken Rosenbauer replaced Uhlman in right field, but Uhlman re-entered in the fourth inning, batting for Rosenbauer.

Uhlman hit the first pitch he saw from reliever Ryan Fairbrother well over the left field fence for a three-run homer, giving the Tornado a 7-1 lead. He drove in Butler's final run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

The Tornado's third straight win was an odd one. Both teams scored runs on balks and winning pitcher Tim Geibel lined into a first-inning double play with the bases loaded and no one out.

Ryan Geibel lost a sacrifice fly in the third inning when the umpire ruled Bill Coleman left third base too soon.

"It's official. It's the strangest game I've played in,"Uhlman admitted.

But it was a game that maintained momentum for Butler, unbeaten in Section 1-AAAAas it heads for a showdown against defending state champion and once-beaten Seneca Valley (7-1, 4-1) Wednesday at SV.

The Raiders won their fourth straight game Monday, a 10-2 decision over Pine-Richland.

"We've had a lot of guys play hurt this year,"Butler coach Dave Florie said. "Our guys have been showing moxie, a lot of belly, a lot of heart."

Uhlman had the trainer put a splint on his finger, gripped a bat and felt well enough to hit.

"It was a fastball down the middle," he said of his home run. "It felt good."

And Geibel's effort on the mound looked good.

The senior right-hander struck out five and walked one in a complete-game effort. He threw only 80 pitches. During the final three innings, Geibel threw just 25 pitches, 20 for strikes.

"With the lead, I was able to rely on my two-seamer and changeup,"Geibel said. "I couldn't keep my breaking ball out of the dirt early in the game."

Geibel's performance marked Butler's second complete-game mound effort in a row.

"We've got every pitcher available (for Seneca Valley) except Timmy,"Florie said. "We should be able to go down there with some ammunition."

"We haven't been able to find the clutch hit, the big hit, to get us going,"Indians coach Nate Buttenfield said. "We haven't been creating any momentum for ourselves."

Jeff Slater had three singles to lead Butler's 12-hit attack. Darren Blakley and Coleman added two hits each.

Blakley reached base in all four of his plate appearances and now has been on base 20 times in seven games.

North Hills 001 000 0—1 6 2Butler 112 301 x—8 12 0Greg Meyer (L, 1K, 4BB), Ryan Fairbrother (4, 1K, 0BB), Travis Cooney (6, 1K, 0BB) and T.J. Zarewicz; Tim Geibel (W, 5K, 1BB) and Ryan Geibel.

North Hills (2-6, 1-3): Ryan Fairbrother 2-1B, Jesse Bauer 1B, Travis Cooney 1B, Anthony Valeriano 2B, Greg Meyer 1B

Butler (6-2, 5-0): Darren Blakley 2B 1B 2-R, Jeff Slater 3-1B 2-R, Dustin Uhlman HR 4-RBI, Tim Geibel 1B, John Crummy 1B, Bill Coleman 2-1B 2-RRBI, Ryan Geibel 1B, David Schmidt 1BRBI

Wednesday: Butler at Seneca Valley