SULLIVAN, Mo. - At first, it appeared as if the Blair Oaks Falcons couldn't make an out at the plate.
By the seventh inning, the Falcons were struggling to record an out in the field against the Salem Tigers.
Blair Oaks, which led by as many as seven runs in Saturday's Class 4 District 9 semifinal, allowed the tying run to come to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning. After Ethan Rackers worked through six-plus innings on the mound, Thomas Verslues came in to shut the door on a 9-6 Blair Oaks win at Bank of Sullivan Ball Park.
"We came out and did what we were supposed to do early," Blair Oaks coach Travis Henke said. "We jumped on them, scored five (runs) in that first inning and kept going after that.
"That's a good ballclub over there. They were 17-3 for a reason."
Blair Oaks scored all five first-inning runs before Salem even recorded an out.
Three straight pitches led to three consecutive singles to start the game, with Ryan Paschal driving in Ethan Rackers on the third single. Garrett Welschmeyer was hit by a pitch to load the bases and then Jason Rackers cleared them with a three-run triple to right-center field.
Bryce Kempker followed with a single over the third baseman's reach to score Jason Rackers, giving Blair Oaks a 5-0 lead.
"We're hopefully peaking at the right time and playing very good baseball," Henke said.
The triple was the first of the season for Jason Rackers, and he added a second triple to left-center later in the sixth inning. He went 3-for-4 to lead the Blair Oaks hitting attack.
"That was a big hit by Jason," Henke said of the first triple. "It got us going early."
It didn't take long before Jason Rackers' big hit was upstaged by a fellow teammate.
Welschmeyer blasted a two-run home run well beyond the 375-foot fence in left-center field in the top of the second. His fifth homer of the season took one hop before it ended up in the parking lot and extended the Falcons' lead to 7-0.
"When I saw Thomas Verslues' reaction at second (base), I was like, 'That ball was hit very well,'" Henke said. "He started clapping and he wasn't even off the base. It was a no-doubter."
Salem pitcher Kory Ramsey settled in after a rocky fist few innings and allowed just four hits in the next five innings in a complete-game effort.
The Tigers' offense broke through with an unearned run in the third inning, then Ramsey helped himself with a two-run single in the fifth to cut Salem's deficit to 7-3.
The final outcome would have been closer had Blair Oaks not taken advantage of a miscue by Salem in the top of the sixth.
Verslues, who already singled in his first three at-bats, hit a grounder back up the middle with runners on second and third base with two outs. The shortstop's throw pulled Salem first baseman Jon Arzt off the base, and Verslues slid safely into the bag to avoid a tag.
Both runners would score on the play, pushing the Blair Oaks lead to 9-3.
"Before game one in this district, I said, 'Guys, we need to bust it down the line,'" Henke said. "If you hustle, you're going to make them put pressure on the defense, and that's what he did."
Salem scored a run in the sixth and had the first two batters reach base to begin the bottom of the seventh, picking up another run. With the pitch-count limit nearing, Verslues came in to relieve Ethan Rackers, who finished with two walks and four strikeouts on 99 pitches.
"He threw very well today and was very efficient. He threw strikes," Henke said of Ethan Rackers. "It got hot on the turf and he got a little tired and left balls up (in the zone). When they put three or four singles together, they're going to score some runs."
The Tigers had back-to-back singles to pull within three, but Verslues induced a game-ending double play to Ethan Rackers at second base to end the game.
Blair Oaks tallied 13 hits, but the Falcons lost five runners on the basepaths during the game.
"When it's May and we're having three or four running mistakes, it's tough to swallow," Henke said. "Fortunately they didn't hurt, but there was a missed squeeze play and then getting thrown out at third base for the first out of an inning. It's mistakes we can't have late in the season."
Lawson Toman went 3-for-3 with two singles, one double and one RBI to lead Salem (17-4), which lost three of its last four games to end the season.
Blair Oaks (19-8), the No. 3 seed in the district, will get another rematch against the top-seeded Helias Crusaders (16-6) for the district championship at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The Falcons lost the first two matchups but hope the third time is the charm against the Crusaders.
"We're both playing very good baseball right now," Henke said. " We're both swinging the bats well, we're both throwing well. We'll see Tuesday when it happens, but I'm hoping for a good game."