BUTLER TWP — Tyler Rekich was just hoping to get the win.

He ended the night with much more than that.

The pitcher for Butler Township’s Little League all-star baseball team threw a perfect game in a 3-0 win over Franklin in the opening round of the District 25 Tournament at Adelman Field Wednesday evening.

Rekich’s effort included 13 strikeouts.

“I’d never been part of a perfect game as a player or a coach,” said Butler Township manager Chris Singleton. “This meant everything to these kids. Most of them have been playing together since they were 7 years old. It was a great way to open up the playoffs.

“All 13 players contributed in some way. The kids who didn’t start came in to either pinch-run or play defense.”

Rekich throws mostly fastballs, but works in the occasional knuckleball.

“It’s a pretty hard pitch to throw, but I used it five times in the game,” Rekich said.

“He threw it twice to Franklin’s best hitter,” said Singleton. “The kid lunged at it both times and hit a couple of weak groundballs.”

Rekich said he started to think about throwing a perfect game in the fourth inning. Singleton and the team’s other coaches tried their best to steer clear of the youngster when he was in the dugout. Superstition says you shouldn’t talk about a perfect game or no-hitter with the pitcher or he will be jinxed.

“A few of our players were unaware of that,” Singleton said. “They came up to Tyler and said, ‘Hey, do you know you’re throwing a perfect game?’”

“That made me nervous,” admitted Rekich.

But there would be no jinx on this night, only perfection from Rekich’s right arm.

Rekich also contributed on offense, hitting a solo home run.

“He bats in either the No. 2 or 3 spot in the order and hits a home run once every six at-bats,” Singleton said.

But after a performance like he turned in Wednesday, you can’t blame Rekich for enjoying his time on the mound a bit more than in the batter’s box.

“I like pitching a little more,” he said.

Other offensive stars in the victory included Braden Marcellus (double, RBI), J.T. Ritzert (single, RBI), Landon Mohney (double, run) and Kyle Yost (two singles).

“We’re very strong offensively,” Singleton said. “Everyone on the team can hit the ball.”

Butler Township will face host Clarion at 8 p.m. Saturday night.