INDIANAPOLIS (Interstat) — Ashton Chronister pitched six innings of no-hit baseball but Xavier withstood a five-run Butler rally in the ninth inning to win 12-10 on Saturday afternoon at Bulldog Park.

Chronister, the top star for Xavier, allowed four earned runs on zero hits, striking out four and walking four. The Musketeers improved to 24-27 overall and 12-11 in the Big East. Butler fell to 17-30 and 5-18.

Xavier opened the scoring in the first inning. Jorge Valdes singled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Luke Hammond. The Musketeers loaded the bases in the fifth inning and stretched the lead to 3-0 on a single by Clay Burdette and a walk to Jonathan Fitz.

Butler answered in the bottom of the fourth. David Ayers crushed a three-run home run to right field, scoring Logan Baker and Charlie Schebler to tie the game 3-3.

Xavier regained control in the fifth. Burdette drove in Donavan Canterberry with a single, and Fitz walked with the bases loaded to force in Valdes. In the sixth inning, Landon Mensik homered to right field, scoring Tommy Townsend and making it 7-3.

The Musketeers broke the game open in the seventh. Mensik walked with the bases loaded to force in Fitz, and Tanner Thomas singled through the right side to score two more runs. Canterberry added an RBI single, and Burdette singled to left field to drive in another run. After seven innings, Xavier led 12-4.

Butler mounted a dramatic comeback in the bottom of the ninth. Will Burgess walked, Chris Lewis was hit by a pitch and Connor Sackett singled to drive in Burgess. Danny Gavin singled to score Lewis, and Matthew Rhoades doubled to right center to bring home Gunnar Duncan. Gavin Gilmore’s sacrifice fly scored Rhoades and Danny Gavin, and Charlie Schebler grounded out to second to plate Rhoades. Logan Baker singled to put the tying run on base, but Garrett Helsel came on to strike out Ayers looking, ending the game at 12-10.

Ashton Chronister (6.0 IP, 0 H, 4 ER, 4 K) earned the win. Landon Mensik went 1 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs. Clay Burdette finished 3 for 6 with two RBIs. Donavan Canterberry was 2 for 5 with an RBI. Joseph Arend worked 2.2 innings of relief, allowing two earned runs on zero hits, and Garrett Helsel recorded the final out.

For Butler, David Ayers homered and drove in three runs. Gavin Gilmore was 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Max Winders started and allowed three earned runs on six hits over five innings. Jack Hagen surrendered one earned run on seven hits in 2.2 innings.

The game was the second of a three-game Big East series. Xavier won the opener 5-2 on Friday, May 8. Xavier’s next game is Sunday, May 10, at Butler.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Xavier 5, Butler 4. The Interstat ELO system gave Xavier a 76.40 percent probability to win.