Pitching in
The Butler BlueSox's final regular-season home game had to feel like a road trip for Tyler Slepski.
It didn't matter to the Butler native.
The 2011 Butler High School graduate was picked up by the BlueSox shortly before midnight on Monday. Living in Hornell, N.Y., an hour south of Rochester, he drove the four hours to his hometown, arriving a few hours before Butler's Prospect League game against Richmond, Ind. Tuesday evening.
The southpaw then took the mound for the Sox and delivered 7 2/3 innings in a 5-4 victory over the RiverRats at Kelly Automotive Park.
“I played high school baseball with (BlueSox players Mick Fennell, Cody Herald and Colin McKee),” Slepski said following his win, which featured five strikeouts and two walks. “It was great to come back and be teammates with those guys again. It was like the old days.”
Slepski went 6-1 with a 1.90 ERA for Mercyhurst-North East in the spring, then helped the Hornell Dodgers win the New York Collegiate Baseball League title. Before joining Butler, he had last pitched in relief for the Dodgers last Friday.
“I was the set-up guy for them,” said Slepski. “I wanted to finish the game tonight, but fatigue became a bit of an issue.”
Slepski was pulled with two outs in the eighth inning after issuing his only two free passes of the night. He was charged with four runs (three earned) while allowing six hits, three of which went for infield singles. Russell Clark was on the mound for the final four outs of the game to earn the save.
“A lot of teams have a shortage of pitchers this time of the season,” said Butler manager Anthony Rebyanski. “Tyler did an outstanding job for us tonight. We were hoping to get five or six innings out of him tonight and we got 7 2/3.”
Slepski is unable to remain on the BlueSox roster for the playoffs due to a league rule that only players who have spent at least 10 days with a team can play in the postseason. But the innings he worked against Richmond saved the arms that remain for tonight's East Division playoff against Chillicothe.
“That's what I kept telling myself tonight, just eat up innings and give the team a chance to win,” said Slepski, who received an ovation while walking off the field in the top of the eighth.
“I wasn't expecting that, just coming in to pitch one game,” he said. “But it shows the support the people here have for the hometown team.”
Tuesday's outing may not be Slepski's only one in BlueSox white and blue.
“I tried to join the BlueSox earlier this season, but it was too late,” he said. “I'd love to come back and play here next season.”
Notes: Butler's win gave it a franchise-record 40 for the season. ... Ryan Uhl hit his third home run of the campaign, a two-run blast in the bottom of the fourth inning. ... Fennell extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
Richmond 000 102 010 — 4 7 1
Butler 001 220 00x — 5 10 3
W: Tyler Slepski 7 2/3 IP (5K, 2BB). L: Bowie Matteson 7 IP (0K, 2BB). S: Russell Clark 1 1/3 IP (4K, 0BB).
Richmond (24-35, 14-19): Nick Sergakis 2-1B, Justin Paulsen 2B 2R, Brendon Neel R, J.D. Rainwater 1B R RBI, Dalton Boucher 1B 3B 2RBI
Butler (40-20, 25-7): Mick Fennell 1B, Ryan Hanahan 2-1B R RBI, Cody Herald 1B, Stuart Levy 1B 2R, Ryan Uhl 2B HR 2RBI, Jeff Revesz 1B 2RBI, Collin Massanelli 1B 2B R
Today: Chillicothe at Butler, Game 1 of a best-of-3 semifinal series, 6:35 p.m.
