Gabe Marcantonio played the hero role in the bottom of the 11th inning Monday when he connected with the game-winning hit.
A day later, the Jefferson City senior provided the Jays with a spark during his first at-bat.
Marcantonio hit a three-run triple in the bottom of the first to give Jefferson City an early lead and the Jays went on to claim an 8-5 win against Lebanon on a cold and windy Tuesday afternoon at Vivion Field.
"I think I've really fixed my swing lately," Marcantonio said. "I'm just really trying to shorten up with it and make contact. I just happened to place it right on the line there.
"Any time you jump up on a team 3-0, it's really a confidence booster for your team."
Marcantonio's hit might have had bigger implications besides giving the Jays the lead - especially since it came against Austin Knight, a Missouri State signee with a fastball that registers in the low 90s.
"He set the tone," Jefferson City coach Brian Ash said. "I think he kind of woke everybody up, like, "OK - if Gabe can do it, maybe I can do it, too.' It gave some kids confidence and you saw kids a little more looser at the plate and taking some good cuts."
Marcantonio had two hits and drove in five runs to pace the Jays (17-5), who have won six straight games.
Alex Johnson picked up the victory, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits, while striking out three and walking three in four innings.
"He was a little all over the place at times, but then would settle in, make a couple of good pitches and get a guy out," Ash said. "I was trying to squeeze as many innings out of him as I could and he got us through where I thought he'd get us through."
Lebanon had the bases loaded with one out when freshman pitcher Jacob Weirich got the last batter to go after a 3-1 pitch. Jefferson City first baseman Adam Grunden recorded the game-winning out with an over-the-shoulder catch in foul territory.
"That was a great play," Ash said. "Adam went a long way. Most first basemen probably don't get to that ball, and Adam certainly did."
Weirich picked up the save after pitching a scoreless seventh inning, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out one.
Fellow freshman Hayden Hirschvogel pitched the fifth and sixth innings for Jefferson City, allowing one run on two walks.
"You could tell at first they were a little cotton-mouthed, a little bit nervous," Ash said. "But we've played so many games in the last week, our pitching is just a little depleted right now.
"It's an opportunity for them to come in, but the bottom line is, if I didn't think they could do it, they wouldn't have been pitching - they wouldn't have been in that situation."
Knight received the loss after allowing seven runs (five earned) on four hits, while striking out five, walking five and hitting two batters.
The senior right-hander had two walks and hit a batter to load the bases in the bottom of the first, setting up Marcantonio's bases-clearing triple.
"If you would have told me first inning we're going to go out there and have a 3-0 lead - obviously I'd take it against a kid like that," Ash said. "Very pleased offensively."
Jefferson City's lead didn't last long.
Lebanon tallied four hits and took advantage of a walk and an error to plate three runs in the bottom of the second, but the Jays had a quick response.
Jake Walker led off the third with a a double, Hayden Strobel reached on an error and Jackson Walker followed with a walk to load the bases with one out. Marcantonio capped off the inning with a single to center and all three runs came in to score following a fielding error by Lebanon - its third of the game.
"I felt like we did a pretty good job adding on to the lead - just building on it one run at a time," Marcantonio said. "That's really all you can do is keep building the lead and get that cushion."
Jefferson City, which only had six hits in the game, added another run on an RBI groundout by Strobel in the fourth to give the Jays a 7-3 cushion.
The Yellowjackets, who stranded 12 baserunenrs, still showed some fight.
Lebanon junior Nick Pearcy led off the fifth with a solo home run to right, but Jefferson City extended its lead to four again on an RBI single by Strobel in the bottom of the inning.
"To come out here and beat a D-I arm that throws 90-plus, and we hit the ball hard at times, I'm just proud with how we battled," Ash said.
Strobel was 1-for-3 with two RBI, while Johnson, Jake Walker and Grant Wood each added one hit to help pace the Jays at the plate.
Jefferson City will go for its seventh straight win when the Jays host South Callaway at 5 p.m. Thursday.
"We're playing pretty well, but we could always play better," Marcantonio said. "Hopefully we keep getting better and peak right when districts come around."
In the JV game, Gerrit Shirts had the game-winning hit as Jefferson City claimed a 7-5 victory.
Shirts was 2-for-3 with two RBI to lead the Jays (11-1) . Dave Rogers was 1-for-2 and drove in two runs, while Bryce Beckley added two hits and an RBI to help pace Jefferson City at the plate.
Blaine Meyer received the win after throwing two scoreless innings without allowing a hit.