Butler graduate Tyler Slepski picked up the loss on the mound as the Butler BlueSox fell on the road at West Virginia, 5-1, Thursday night.

Slepski struck out two and didn’t walk a batter in five innings. He gave up six hits and two runs, both earned.

His earned run average stands at 2.54 through three starts, all on the road. The loss was Slepski’s first of the season.

David Marcus went 3-for-4 with a double for the BlueSox (8-10). Marcus improved his batting average to .358, fifth-best in the league.

Other than Marcus, the BlueSox managed only one hit. Butler drew five walks in the game, including two each by Michael Patrick and Chucky Vazquez. The BlueSox’ lone run scored as the result of a Vazquez walk and Matt Hansen sacrifice fgly.

The BlueSox stranded 10 runners on base in the contest.

The Miners scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull away.

Butler will try to snap a brief two-game losing skid tonight at West Virginia as Seneca Valley graduate Connor Coward gets his first start.