The start was fine. The rest was a disaster.

The Butler BlueSox built a 3-0 lead through four innings Wednesday night at Kelly Automotive Park, only to watch Champion City erupt for 16 hits while taking advantage of nine walks.

It all added up to a 13-6 victory for the Kings and a sweep of their Prospect League-opening two-game series at Butler.

“Our guys were having trouble picking up the ball early,” Champion City manager Mike Ruechel said. “I don’t know if it was the twilight or what it was.

“A few innings in, our hitters were seeing the ball better. Their guy then went to his breaking ball and he did a nice job with it. But we got runners on base and took away that pitch. That really helped us.”

And hurt BlueSox starting pitcher Nolan Krivijanski.

Read more in Thursday's edition of the Butler Eagle.