FORT WORTH – Tucker Butler was expecting to start on the mound in Game 3 of Guyer’s Class 4A Region I bi-district series against Saginaw Boswell, if it was necessary.

Turns out, he was needed a little bit sooner in Guyer’s 8-6 win in Game 2 on Friday at Boswell, which clinched the series and advanced the Wildcats (25-4) to the area round.

When Guyer starter Jacob Rhame began to tire in the fifth inning and gave up three walks and a double to the first four hitters, Guyer head coach Johnny Kinzy took action with the bases loaded and no outs with an 8-2 lead.

Boswell’s Cameron Mavroulis drove a 3-1 offering from Butler to left-center field for a bases-clearing triple, and after an error, he scored on the play to put the Pioneers (19-14) within two runs.

Butler went on to strike out the next three batters and allowed two more hits the rest of the way to earn a three-inning save.

“I really didn’t expect to play,” said Butler, the Wildcats’ starting shortstop. “I thought Jacob was doing an excellent job tonight. I really didn’t think Coach [Kinzy] would bring me in just in case of a Game 3, but he put me in and I just did the best I could to win.”

Kinzy, who saw his Wildcats win their first-ever playoff series, said he decided to go to the four-year starter in the pressure-packed situation instead of holding out for a possibility of another game today.

“I went ahead and decided, ‘Let’s go ahead and win today,’” Kinzy said. “We had Plan B in that situation. I wanted to put that senior who’s a four-year starter on the hill and let him win the game, and that’s exactly what he did. Now we get to go on to the next round.”

Guyer will meet Granbury, a 9-0 winner over Fort Worth South Hills, in the one-game area round playoff on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Grand Prairie’s Airhog Stadium.

The Wildcats appeared to be moving on without a problem early in the game, as they pounded out six hits in the first three innings, including a five-run second inning, before being held to just one hit over the final four frames by reliever Josh Stone.

The second inning began with a double by freshman outfielder Cole Fiola, who scored on one of Boswell’s three errors off a Drew Johnson grounder.

Then, with runners on second and third, Colby Walding drove a triple to right-center field scoring Johnson and Rhame to key the big inning for Guyer.

In the next frame, Brad Kottman hit a two-run single to cap off the scoring for the Wildcats after a double steal by Walding and Butler – two of four Guyer steals on the night.

Kottman finished the night 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run. Walding finished 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs.

Kinzy said the lack of scoring consistency is something that will have to change if the Wildcats want to continue their playoff run.

“Early on we’re getting a run an inning and we ended up with a big inning, but our goal’s to always scratch at least one run an inning, and we threw a bunch of zeroes on the board,” Kinzy said. “That’s gonna come back to haunt us.”

Boswell had the go-ahead run at the plate three times in the bottom of the sixth inning after two singles before Butler and the defense behind him got the Wildcats out of trouble.

“I’ve been wanting to do this since I was a freshman, and now I got the chance,” the senior said. “I just wanted to keep my team up. They had faith in me, and I had faith in them.”

And while the first playoff series win in school history is nice for Kinzy, who’s coached at various stops for 18 seasons, he said there will be no jubilation.

“It feels good, but it’s like I said to them, ‘You can enjoy it, but we’re not gonna celebrate because we expect to keep going,’” he said.

ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address is aboedeker@dentonrc.com.

Guyer 8, Saginaw Boswell 6

Guyer   152      000      0          --         8          7          2

Boswell            010      050      0          --         6          8          3         

WP – Jacob Rhame (5-1). LP – Dylan Swindell. Sv – Tucker Butler. 2B – G: Brad Kottman, Cole Fiola. B: Keelan Crosby, Josh Stone. 3B – G: Colby Walding. B: Cameron Mavroulis. Records – Guyer (25-4). Saginaw Boswell (19-14).