Wyatt Daugherty usually shows very little emotion on the mound or off of it.

The Butler High graduate and Butler BlueSox relief pitcher is as steel- faced as they come.

But after coming into the game with runners on the corners with Butler clinging to a 6-5 lead in the ninth and striking out both hitters he faced, Daugherty pumped his fist and yelled.

Not that anyone could hear it. The large crowd at Kelly Automotive Park Monday night was in full throat as the BlueSox swept the Miners in the best-of-three conference championship series to advance to the Prospect League championship series.

“Pitching in front of a hometown crowd was possibly the best thing I could have done,” Daugherty said, showing a rare smile. “I loved it. I loved it.”

It's the first playoff series win in club history for Butler and it impressed West Virginia manager Tim Epling.

“I've been around this league for a long time — I've been here for eight years — and we've made the playoffs seven times,” Epling said. “I know what it takes to win a championship. Every team that's won a championship has had the same thing and Butler has it.”

Butler certainly played the cleanest game.

West Virginia was dogged by four errors. The final two runs Butler scored — which ended up being vital — came on errors without the benefit of a hit.

“You know, we've won some games like that, too,” Epling said. “It all evens out.”

After a rocky start, Butler left-hander Josh LaPiana was dominant.

LaPiana struck out 11 — including four in one inning — and walked just one in seven-plus innings. He gave up just three hits after the second inning when the Miners took a 2-1 lead.

But Butler struck for three runs in the bottom of the second for a 4-2 advantage.

The big blow was a two-run single by Pavin Parks, who also hit a solo home run in the first.

On Parks' two-run single, another run scored on an error.

“Pavin came up really clutch, but he's one of those guys, too, who when the times are tough and stressful, he wants to be the guy who comes up in that situation,” said Butler manager Cody Herald.

Daugherty has also been that guy for the BlueSox.

He's been called upon to get out of jams before this season and he's almost always delivered.

“Every time I go out there, it's me versus him,” Daugherty said. “If I win every at-bat, there's no way we can lose. That's my mentality. I focus on each individual batter at a time.”

Daugherty was needed because of a wild eighth and ninth.

West Virginia scored twice in the eighth, both charged to LaPiana, on a sacrifice fly by Josh Hagan and a RBI single by Ivan Acuna.

On the Acuna single, which glanced off the glove on James Meeker down the third base line, Austin Norman slid safely into third under the tag of Meeker, who scrambled back after retrieving the bag.

After an exchange between the umpire and Norman, Meeker was ejected.

Following the controversy, Jamie Switalski was able to get an inning-ending double play to get out of the inning with the BlueSox up 6-4

Ty Black started the ninth but quickly got into trouble with a leadoff walk.

With one out, Dan Ward laced a pinch-hit double off the base of the right-center field wall to put runners at second and third. Mat DiLeo then singled in a run to set the stage for Daugherty.

Ward was hurt Sunday night when he fouled a pitch off his foot and was only available to pinch-hit.

“We've had six important guys hurt as various times this season,” Epling said. “These guys really gutted it out the last week as hamstrung as they were to get into the playoffs.”

But Butler is the team moving on to face either Lafayette or Terre Haute in the championship series which will begin Thursday.

Lafayette and Terre Haute are tied 1-1 in their best-of-three series.

Butler will host the second game of the championship series Saturday and Game 3 if necessary on Sunday.

For Herald, who is in his first season as manager after playing for two years with the BlueSox as a player, the ride has been a wonderful one.

“It makes me feel really good, not just for these guys, but for the city,” Herald said. “The city needs this. We made it in (2014 when Herald was a player) and we really wanted to do it for the city. These guys are all in for the end result and that's why we're doing so well.”

West Virginia 120 000 021 — 5 10 4

Butler 130 001 10x — 6 7 1

W: Josh LaPiana 7+IP (11K, 1BB). L: Austin Sherry 4+IP (2K, 1BB). SV: Wyatt Daugherty 0.2IP (2K, 0BB)

West Virginia: Matt DiLeo 3-1B RBI, Colby Johnson 2B, Austin Norman RBI, Josh Hagan 1B RBI, Ivan Acuna 3B 1B RBI, Justin Mitchell 1B, Eddy Gonzalez 1B RBI, Dan Ward 2B

Butler: Tanner Murphy 1B, Pavin Parks HR 1B 3-RBI, Calvin Scott 2-1B, James Meeker 1B, Stefan Mrkonja 1B

Thursday: Butler vs. Lafayette/Terra Haute winner in best-of-three Prospect League Championship series