After falling behind Waynesville almost immediately Tuesday, the Helias baseball team did the best thing it could: It hit the reset button.
The Crusaders answered the Tigers' two-run top of the first inning with two of their own in the bottom of the frame. After making it a new game, Helias dominated the rest of the way and went on for a 7-3 victory at the American Legion Post 5 Sports Complex.
"That was really big - it made it a six-inning ballgame," Helias coach Chris Wyrick said. "We came out a little lackadaisical, we weren't ready to play. To come back and get two to tie it up was big. If we get a zero there, then they've got a lot of momentum.
"It was a big half-inning. Everybody relaxed and thought, "We got a do-over, let's make the most of it,' and for the most part, we responded."
Waynesville got its two in the first with just one hit, thanks to two Helias errors and a squeeze bunt.
Helias answered with its two-first inning runs on three hits and one error. The big hits in the inning were RBI singles by Todd Buschjost and Chase Bexten.
The Crusaders got another pair of RBI singles - this time by Dylan Gaines and Will Blankenship - in a two-run third that gave them the lead for good. Both of the runs scored with two outs, as Helias got four of its seven runs thanks to two-out RBI hits.
"That's what you've got to do, especially at this time of the year," Wyrick said. "If you want to advance in district play and beyond, you've got to be able to get guys in with two outs.
"You can't just score with one out or no outs - anybody can move a guy to third base and score with nobody out, but two-out RBI kill a pitcher's momentum."
Helias got its third two-run inning of the game in the fifth. After Bexten singled and Gaines doubled to put runners at second and third, Kale Gerstner came to the plate. Gerstner ripped a single to center to score Bexten, and Gaines also came home when the Waynesville center fielder misplayed the ball.
The Crusaders' final run came in the sixth when Alex Faddoul singled, stole second and came home on a double by Buschjost.
The Crusaders ended with 11 hits in the contest.
"This is the time of the year we want to start fine-tuning things and sharpening what we're doing," Wyrick said. "We know we need to get better, so we'll get back to work (today) and hopefully Thursday in Sedalia (against Smith-Cotton) we can play a little bit better.
"I'm just hoping we can get guys one through nine putting good swings on balls. If we don't get hits, that's one thing, but we've got to be able to put good swings on good pitches, and then we'll take our chances. We have guys that can hit, we've just got some guys putting less-than-average swings on some good pitches."
Buschjost paced the offense with two hits and two RBI, while Bexten and Gaines had two hits and one RBI each. Faddoul chipped in with a pair of singles, two stolen bases and three runs scored.
Buschjost and Cole Donaldson combined on a three-hitter. Buschjost pitched the first five innings to get the win, giving up two unearned runs on two hits while striking out four.
"Todd was a little more aggressive in the strike zone, and in general, after the first inning. He wasn't feeling real well today and we weren't going to throw him all seven regardless. So for not feeling real well, he did a good job."
Donaldson worked the final two innings and allowed one earned run on one hit while striking out two.
Helias, which has won 10 in a row, is now 16-6 overall heading into Thursday's game at Smith-Cotton. The Crusaders will then begin Class 4 district play at 4 p.m. Monday at School of the Osage. Helias is the second seed and will play the winner of Saturday's game between third-seeded Bolivar and sixth-seeded Osage.