WARDSVILLE, Mo. - It's been said leadoff walks will kill you. So you can only imagine how tough it would be to overcome a leadoff walk followed immediately by two more.
The first three batters of the game drew walks for Helias, keying a seven-run top of the first, and the Crusaders rode that momentum to a 13-3 win against Blair Oaks in five innings Tuesday night.
The first six batters of the game reached safely for Helias, as Hayden Lee followed walks to Alex Barton, Austin Sachse and Alex Faddoul with a two-run single. After another walk, that to Todd Buschjost, Garrett Buschjost ripped a two-run double.
Following a two-run error that would have ended the inning, Barton came back to the plate and hit a run-scoring single to right that made it 7-0.
There was still time left for Blair Oaks, but Helias had effectively won it at that point.
"(Blair Oaks starter Logan Bax) was wild early and we took advantage of that," Helias coach Chris Wyrick said. "When he put it in the zone, we put good swings on it, and that's all you can ask."
Blair Oaks coach Harv Antle said the Falcons faced an uphill battle after that half-inning.
"Any time you dig yourself a 7-0 hole, against any team, let alone a good team, you're going to be up against it," he said. "And that was the situation today. We coudn't locate (pitches) and they dropped some hits in and they made the most of their opportunities."
The Falcons made it interesting in the bottom of the first when Hayden Haney blasted a home run over the fence in left-center field to score Bryce Pritchett and Brent Heckemeyer, who both had singled. However, they missed a chance to score a run earlier when a runner was cut down at the plate on Heckemeyer's single thanks to a great throw from right field by Sachse.
"We've been struggling to score runs, so we were trying to be more aggressive and make the most of our opportunities," Antle said. "It looked like a bang-bang play that could have gone either way. Unfortunately it went against us and that's kind of the streak that we're in - Murphy's law, anything that can go wrong seemingly is."
The Crusaders came right back with two more runs in the top of the second. After Lee singled and Todd Buschjost doubled, Brock Gerstner blooped a two-out single to left to score them both. It was typical of a day where Helias scored seven of its 13 runs with two outs.
"We had several two-out hits that were big," Wyrick said.
Helias then got the rest of the tallies it would need to end the game by run rule in the fifth. After Chase Bexten was hit by a pitch and John Rhea singled, Barton ripped a two-run single up the middle. Barton ended up going 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Sachse followed with a walk and one out later, Lee lashed a two-run single. It was part of a 3-for-4 day for Lee with four RBI.
"He's been in the zone the last week and a half, so it was good to see him stay hot," Wyrick said.
Blair Oaks loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, but couldn't push across the run that would have kept the game going.
"When you play from behind like that, it takes away most of your offense," Antle said. "The short game goes away - you can't bunt, you can't hit and run, you can't steal.
"You're trying to protect your most precious commodity, and that's the outs left on the scoreboard. You're trying to chip away, string hits together. We fought back, got back into it, but they were able to add on and then put us away at the end."
Bax, who had two of Blair Oaks' six hits on offense, ended up taking the loss. After needing 45 pitches to get through that first inning, he stuck around for a total of 96 pitches in 41/3 innings. He allowed 12 runs (nine earned) on eight hits and four walks while striking out four.
Shintaro Hatashima got the final two outs, giving up one earned run on one hit and one walk.
The loss continues a season of streaks for the Falcons, who are now 13-7. After winning 10 straight to open the season, they lost two games before winning three. They're now in the midst of a five-game losing streak.
Helias, meanwhile, improved to 13-7.
"This might be one of our more complete games we've had all year," Wyrick said. "Our baserunning was outstanding, our hitting was locked-in, and while we made a couple errors, we didn't compound those by making another. We bounced back and made the next play that was available to us."
Wyatt Porter pitched the first 21/3 innings to get the win, allowing three earned runs on four hits while walking two and striking out one.
"Wyatt gave up three runs, but he was throwing strikes," Wyrick said. "Our pitchers gave us a chance to win."
Porter exited after just 43 pitches for Todd Buschjost, who worked 22/3 scoreless innings while allowing two hits and two walks while striking out three.
Wyrick said Porter leaving early was all part of the plan.
"We were going to "Johnny Wholestaff' it, we had another two guys that were supposed to throw, but we only went five," Wyrick said. "And I just felt like the second time through the lineup we may get in trouble, so we just gave them a different look.
"Todd came in and threw a bunch of strikes, threw all his pitches effectively and did a great job for us. It's great to have him back, he's a quality pitcher."
Both teams return to action Friday, with Helias traveling to Hannibal and Blair Oaks playing at Versailles.
In Tuesday's JV game, Blair Oaks posted a 2-1 victory against Helias. Austin Herigon went the distance in the five-inning game to get the win for Blair Oaks (8-2).