It had all the earmarks of a game that could turn on just one play.
Jacob Crede of the Fatima Comets made that play.
A sterling defensive play by the shortstop kept Blair Oaks from a potential big inning Saturday afternoon and the Comets rallied to edge the Falcons 4-2 in the fifth-place game of the Capital City Invitational at the American Legion Post 5 Sports Complex.
"That was a huge play, a huge break," Fatima coach Scott Kilgore said. "It was a momentum shift in this game. It just went our way."
After a scoreless first two innings, Blair Oaks used a walk, a single and a hit-batter to load the bases with nobody out in the third. Nolan Hair of the Falcons then drew a walk to force in David Dell with the game's first run. Parker Bax followed with another walk to bring home Kamron Morriss to make it 2-0.
With the Fatima infield in, Crede was able to snare a liner off the bat of Ian Nolph. Crede then threw to first to complete a double play. After another walk, the Comets got a foul out to first to end the threat.
"That double play really changed the game because we should have gotten more out of that inning," Blair Oaks coach Mike DeMilia said.
Fatima tied the game with two runs in the fourth on an RBI single by Blake Paschal and a bases-loaded walk to Crede.
The Comets took the lead with two in the fifth. With two out and nobody on, Josef Keilholz singled to center. Jordan Herzing then lined a 3-2 pitch to left for an RBI double. Tony Bock followed with a single to score Herzing to make it 4-2.
"They hit the ball OK, but I think we gave them a lot of their runs by missing a few balls in the field we probably should have caught," DeMilia said.
The Falcons put two runners on in both the sixth and seventh innings, but failed to score.
"With the exception of the Russellville game last night (a 16-3 victory), our offense has struggled this season," DeMilia said.
Bock was the winning pitcher in relief of starter Gage Bax. Bax worked four-plus innings, allowing two runs on three hits and five walks while striking out four. Bock worked two innings, walking two and striking out one.
Austin Wegman pitched the seventh to get the save, walking two while striking out one.
"Getting ahead in the count makes the life of a pitcher so much easier," Kilgore said. "We had too many walks and too many hit-batters and that has to get better if we want to compete, especially against the schedule we play."
Dell took the loss in relief. He pitched two innings, allowing two runs on four hits with one strikeout. Gavin Bernskoetter pitched the first four innings, allowing two runs on four hits and four walks to go along with four strikeouts.
Both teams are looking for boosts to their offense.
For Fatima, it's a matter of getting more from the bottom of the order.
"We are going have to have that as a goal, we need to find production out of that part of the lineup," Kilgore said.
For Blair Oaks, it's about settling on a batting order.
"We got a long way to go," DeMilia said. "We have some talent, we just haven't put it together yet."
Blair Oaks (4-6) will play Monday at Fulton in a makeup game.
Fatima (3-5) will play Wednesday at New Bloomfield in a makeup game.
"When we have high energy, we play well," Kilgore said. "When we stay up, we play well. When we work together as a team, we can compete with just about anybody."
The teams are slated to meet again April 19 at the Falcon Athletic Complex in Wardsville.
Fatima's win capped a 4-for-4 performance by Black Pool teams in Saturday's final round. Pool champion Hickman beat Eureka 10-6 in the title contest, while Helias was a 13-3 winner against Jefferson City in the third-place game. Lutheran: St. Charles topped Russellville 12-2 for seventh.