Nick Bucci likes pitching against Kokomo.

The Butler right-hander was dazzling again against the Jackrabbits, going 8 1/3 innings to lead the BlueSox to a 6-3 Prospect League win Thursday night at Kelly Automotive Park.

“They're aggressive so I can get a lot of ground balls,” Bucci said. “That's about it.”

In Bucci's first start against Kokomo June 15, he gave up just one run on three hits in seven innings.

Two weeks later, the Thiel College sophomore got the ball again and gave up three runs on four hits against the Jackrabbits.

“Toward the end of the game my curveball started coming around,” Bucci said. “The last time I faced them, my curveball wasn't working at all, so I just threw fastballs and change-ups. Normally I try to get a fastball for a strike first pitch.”

Bucci threw 119 pitches — 76 for strikes. The high pitch count was no big deal for the big right-hander, who said he was used to a heavy workload at Thiel this spring.

“I threw 135 pitches in a game this season,” he said. “I kind of have a rubber arm.”

Bucci, who is now 3-1 on the season with a 4.19 ERA, has been a revelation for Butler and first-year manager Cody Herald.

“I think Bucci all year, every start he has, he comes out and just fills it up and throws strikes,” Herald said. “Whenever they do hit him, he minimizes the damage. Very rarely does he give up anything for free.

“He kind of has that bulldog mentality,” Herald added. “His coach told us, 'Let him go.' He's one of those kids who never ices. His arm never hurts. He can just throw all the time. My arm hurts throwing batting practice.”

The Butler offense gave Bucci plenty of support.

Six of the nine hits for the BlueSox went for doubles.

Brady Gulakowski had two of them. James Meeker lashed one in the bottom of the first for a 1-0 Butler lead. Tanner Murphy had a two-run double in the fourth that gave Butler a 4-0 advantage.

The run support was plenty for Bucci.

“I think we are probably the best hitting team in the league,” Herald said. “The thing that we were struggling on was arms. Now that we have more arms, kids like Bucci and our starting pitchers, there's some weight lifted off their shoulders.”

Butler's defense has also come around.

After committing a league-high 40 errors in their first 13 games, the BlueSox have made 11 in the last 12.

Butler turned three double plays behind Bucci Thursday and committed just one error.

“We told them if they go back-to-back games without errors, we'd buy them ice cream,” Herald quipped.

“It's all fun,” Herald added. “There's a difference between the physical errors and the mental errors and we've gotten a whole lot better in not making mental errors.”

Butler led 6-1 in the ninth and Bucci got the first out of the inning, but was chased after a double and a walk.

Ryann Gray came in and had a forgettable outing, walking the only two batters he faced and allowing a run to score on a wild pitch.

Jamie Switalksi got the final two outs for a save.

The win was an important one for the BlueSox, who arrived home to Butler at 4 a.m. Thursday morning after losing in 12 innings at West Virginia.

“We weren't even worried about last night's game, it was about us getting back at four,” Herald said. “But the guys showed up as if we had a home game yesterday. No one was really tired. I think this team just loves competing and loves playing every day.”

Kokomo 000 100 002 — 3 4 1

Butler 110 220 00x — 6 9 1

W: Nick Bucci 8.1IP (4K, 3BB). L: Koby Bishop 3.1IP (3K, 5BB). SV: Jamie Switalski 0.2IP (1K, 0BB)

Kokomo (10-17): Imani Willis HR 2B RBI, Andrew Dyke 1B RBI, Bailey Partlow 1B

Butler (13-12): Tanner Murphy 2B 2-RBI, Calvin Scott 2B, James Meeker 2B RBI, Brady Gulakowski 2-2B, Kristian Webb 2B RBI, Damian Maglione 1B, Erek Bolton 1B, Ben Carew 1B

Today: Kokomo at Butler, 7:05 p.m.