Butler BlueSox catcher Russell Clark can feel the excitement.

Everything seems to be pointing in the right direction.

The BlueSox have won three straight Prospect League games and only allowed one run in the process.

The last win, a 4-1 decision Sunday over the Richmond River Rats (Ind.) at Kelly Automotive Park, vaulted Butler into a tie atop the hotly-contested Eastern Division standings with West Virginia.

“I think we realize we’re pretty close to the playoffs,” Clark said. “That’s driving us to win ballgames.”

The BlueSox, who have never made the postseason, also beat Richmond 2-0 Saturday.

Butler (26-18 overall, 11-5 second half) can earn a playoff bid by finishing first in the second half. The BlueSox can also qualify if Chillicothe wins the first half and Butler finishes with the second-best overall record.

Butler doesn’t play West Virginia again and will play 14 of its final 16 games against teams with losing records.

Butler manager Anthony Rebyanski isn’t thinking about playoffs just yet.

He just wants his team to focus on winning.

“We have to keep pitching. We’ll get the clutch hits when we need them,” Rebyanski said. “This is the time of year when guys start getting shut down. As long as we keep the guys here, I think we’ll be in contention.”

Timely hitting played a big role against the RiverRats (16-28, 6-12).

With the game tied 1-1 in the fifth, Clark led off with a double.

One batter later, Taylor Schmidt laid a bunt down just inside the third-base line that allowed him to reach on a single.

Mick Fennell, a Butler High School graduate, put the BlueSox ahead with an RBI single off River Rats starter Luke McGee.

McGee struck out five in 6.1 innings of work.

“I think timely execution for us, getting runners in scoring position when we had a chance was a big part,” Fennell said. “Then we had timely hitting on top of that.”

Ryan Uhl followed Fennell with a sacrifice fly to put the BlueSox ahead 3-1.

Mitch Patishall threw five innings and struck out four to earn the win for Butler.

After allowing an RBI double to Justin Paulson in the third, Patishall and the pitching staff kept the River Rats off the board.

Richmond was limited to five hits and left eight runners on base.

“We played well enough to win the game,” River Rats manager Tyler Lairson said. “We just didn’t swing (the bat) well enough to win the game.”

Clark’s patience helped Butler even the game in the third.

After falling behind in the count 1-2, Clark fouled off four pitches and drew a walk.

He moved to second base on a bunt by Zac LaNeve and score on a throwing error.

Clark and Fennell, who both contributed two hits, demonstrated patience at the plate. The BlueSox finished with eight hits.

“They paid attention to how a guy pitches throughout the game,” Rebyanski said. “They made the adjustments when we had guys on base and got it done.”

The BlueSox tacked on an insurance run in the seventh when Fennell singled in Schmidt.

Fennell feels they’ve found the right formula to win.

“The pitching has been holding us in the whole year,” Fennell said. “Now, our hitting is turning it around. That’s definitely going to add up.”

Richmond 001 000 000 — 1 5 2

Butler 001 020 01x — 4 8 1

W: Mitch Patishall 5IP (4K, 3BB). L: Luke McGee 6 1/3IP (5K, 1BB).

Richmond (16-28, 6-12): Nick Sergakis 2B, Justin Paulsen 2B, Will Farmer 1B, Brendon Beel 2-1B.

Butler (26-18, 11-5): Mick Fennell 2-1B 2 RBIs, Forrest Perron 1B, Ryan Uhl 1B RBI, Nick Sell 1B, Russell Clark 1B 2B, Zac LaNeve 1B, Taylor Schmidt 1B.

Today: Lorain County at Butler