Chillicothe entered its two-game series at Pullman Park as one of the hottest teams in the Prospect League, winning eight of its past nine games.

No team, however, is playing better baseball than the Butler BlueSox.

A six-run fifth inning catapulted the BlueSox to an 11-3 victory Friday night — outscoring the Paints 16-4 in the series — for a franchise-record eighth consecutive win.

“Honestly, I don't even know what to say about it right now,” said Butler manager Anthony Rebyanski. “I told them after tonight's game, 'You guys are just clicking.'”

The win keeps the BlueSox tied for first place in the East Division with the West Virginia Miners, which open a weekend series at Pullman Park Saturday at 6:35 p.m.

Kyle Petty went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and 4 RBIs in Butler's win Friday night, while Elliot Caldwell was 4-for-5 with a double and three runs scored. As a team, the BlueSox (14-8) pounded out 14 hits.

“Everybody, one through nine, is seeing the ball well,” Rebyanski noted.

Jared Locke was equally dominant on the mound. He struck out 10, walked just one and allowed one run in seven innings of work. His ERA now sits at 1.61 on the season.

The Paints (13-9) had a chance to rattle his confidence early, but Locke escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second inning by striking out Mike Nadratowski.

“Obviously looking at his numbers, he's one of the better pitchers in the league,” said Chillicothe manager Greg Cypret of Locke. “We struggled a little bit in the front end of the ballgame and they did what you're supposed to do and kept stretching it out on us.”

Butler jumped on Chillicothe starter Will Nimke early with three runs in the first. Caldwell sparked the rally with a single to left field, before Brendan Constantino walked in his first plate appearance of the season. Petty then ripped a liner, which slipped past Paints right fielder Aaron Hopper and rolled all the way to the wall, allowing Constantino to score while Petty advanced to third on the two-base error.

“We got a couple of new guys today with Brendan Constantino and Alex Miklos,” said Rebyanski. “They have a lot of speed and we can utilize that speed on the basepaths.”

The crowd of well over 1,000 saw the speed of Miklos firsthand, as the Grove City grad motored around the bases for a two-out triple in the fourth. Three pitches later, he nearly stole home but was called out on bang-bang play at the plate.

“I thought he was safe,” said Rebyanski, who protested the call between innings. “I love the aggressiveness these guys have right now.”

Chillicothe cut it to 3-1 in the top of the fifth on an RBI double by Kevin Zak, scoring Nadratowski. However, it didn't take long for the BlueSox to pile on plenty of insurance.

Chris Rasky was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the fifth and Caldwell and Constantino loaded the bases with back-to-back singles. Petty hit a towering shot to right field, which fell just short of the wall, but scored Rasky on the sacrifice. Matt Albaugh followed with an RBI double to left-center field and chased Nimke from the game.

The Paints called upon Brandon Sega, who failed to retire any of the five batters he faced, as the Butler advantage bloated to 9-1. Zach Wolfe relived Sega and induced a 6-4-3 double play to finally put an end to the six-run outburst.

“We had come in playing pretty well,” said Cypret. “They're a good team and they're hot and swinging the bats really good, so they're going to be tough to beat the rest of the season.”

The Paints scored two in the eighth off reliever Jon Danielczyk, but Petty put an exclamation point on the scoring with his two-run blast in the bottom half of the frame. Tim Haley pitched a perfect ninth inning to wrap up the win.

“Everybody looks hungry. You can't instill that in a player. You have to want to come to the field hungry,” said Rebyanski. “These guys come here and they are having a blast. For their sake, I hope it continues.

“As long as we keep doing what we're doing, I think we're going to be OK,” he added. “It's still a long season. ... They're excited as can be coming to the field every day and as a manager, that's all I can ask. It puts a huge smile on my face.”

Chillicothe Paints 000 010 020 — 3 9 2

Butler BlueSox 300 060 02x — 11 14 1

W: Jared Locke 7IP (10K, 1BB). L: Will Nimke 4 1/3IP (2K, 2BB).

Chillicothe (13-9): Mike Nadratowski 2-1B, R; Kevin Zak 2B, RBI; Matt Fisher 3-1B, R; Nick Lombardi 2B, R; Ryan Cypret 1B, 2-RBI; Cody Gaertner 1B.

Butler (14-8): Elliott Caldwell 3-1B, 2B, 3-R; Brendan Constantino 1B, 2-R; Kyle Petty 2-1B, HR, 2-R, 4-RBI; Matt Albaugh 2B, R; Eric Hess R, RBI; Jason Radwan 2-1B, R; Alex Miklos 1B, 3B, RBI; Chris Rasky 1B, R.

Saturday: West Virginia Miners vs. Butler BlueSox, at Pullman Park, 6:35 p.m.