The Butler BlueSox returned to the basics on Friday — and it showed.

Backed by a complete-game effort by Calyn Young, big hits and sterling defense, the BlueSox downed the Lorain County Ironmen 5-1 in Prospect League action at Pullman Park.

Butler had dropped 12 of 14 after starting the second half at 9-2, but that seemed like a distant memory Friday night.

“Pitching is all about throwing strikes and that’s been our downfall,” BlueSox manager Anthony Rebyanski said. “We’ve been giving teams extra baserunners.

“I’ve tried to stress to the guys, ‘don’t be afraid to throw strikes.’ Calyn threw 92 pitches in nine innings. That’s pretty good.”

Young, a junior at Southwestern Oklahoma State, picked up his first win of the year, scattering six hits with five strikeouts and one walk.

George Roberts’ two-run homer in the first inning staked the BlueSox (12-14) to a 2-0 lead. Elliott Caldwell, who would increase his single-season league record for hits to 90, opened the inning with a triple.

“The biggest thing in the first inning was keeping them off the scoreboard,” Roberts said. “That seems to have been hurting us ... And, getting out to an early lead is huge. It helped us get in a groove.”

“George has been doing a great job after the (College) World Series,” Rebyanski said about the Kent State junior. “We thought he’d be a draft pick after this season ... George has a chip on his shoulder. He keeps wanting to get better.”

Lorain did put two runners on base in the fourth inning after singles by Cody Koch and Ryan Wonders, the latter with two outs, but Young got Rey Carrion to ground out to end the threat.

Justin Brozick’s sacrifice fly after singles by Matt Albaugh and Jason Radwan brought in another run in the fourth inning before the Ironmen (8-18) scored their lone run on a solo home run by Michael Burke. The BlueSox tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the seventh inning when Jon Danielczyk drew a two-out walk off reliever Zack Speer, then Neal Jacobs and Nathan Pope followed with an RBI triple and RBI single, respectively.

The BlueSox will host Slippery Rock Saturday and Sunday before wrapping up the season at Lorain Monday.

“We’ve been struggling so hopefully we can get a couple more wins for these fans, who’ve been great,” Roberts said. “It would be nice to get a couple more ‘W’s.’”

“It was a good win (Friday),” Rebyanski said.. “Hopefully, we can play loose the last few games and see what happens.”

Lorain County 000 010 000 — 1 6 0Butler 200 100 20x — 5 9 0W: Calyn Young 9 IP (5K, 1BB). L: Vince Frate 4 IP (2K, 0BB).Lorain County (8-18): Michael Burke 1B, HR; Nolan Neuschaefer 3B; John Koepf 1B; Cody Koch 1B; Ryan Wonders 1BButler (12-14): Elliott Caldwell 2-1B, 3B; George Roberts HR, 2 RBI; Matt Albaugh 2-1B; Neal Jacobs 3B, RBI; Nathan Pope 1B, RBI; Jason Radwan 1B; Justin Brozick RBISaturday: Slippery Rock at Butler, 7:05 p.m.Sunday: Slippery Rock at Butler, 6:35 p.m.Monday: Butler at Lorain County, 7:05 p.m.