WARDSVILLE, Mo. - It was an off night for the Helias offense, but with Connor McKenna on the mound, the Crusaders didn't need to press too much at the plate.
The Helias senior right-hander scattered five hits in a complete-game effort, leading the Crusaders to a 4-0 win Tuesday against the Blair Oaks Falcons at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
"Connor pitched well," Helias coach Chris Wyrick said. "That's the second game in a row he has really commanded the strike zone with all three of his pitches.
"When he's that good, we just need to scratch a few across (the plate) and then let him do what he does."
Helias finished the game with five hits, four of them singles, that came in either the second or sixth innings. But of those five hits, it was a little dribbler that proved to be the game-winner.
With runners on second and third base with one out in the top of the second inning, Parker Schnieders hit a soft grounder to the left side of the infield. Blair Oaks pitcher David Dell couldn't get to the ball in time, and Dylan Hood took off from third on contact, scoring easily.
However, the weak infield hit got past Blair Oaks infielders Bryce Kempker and Jacob Stegemann as well, which allowed Zach Paschal to score all the way from second base, giving Helias a 2-0 lead.
"That was big getting those two guys in," Wyrick said. "We probably stranded five or six, and left the bases loaded once. You have to take advantage of what the other team gives you."
It was one of two costly defensive mistakes for Blair Oaks. In the third inning, the Crusaders added another run when a throwing error on what could have been an inning-ending force out at second base allowed Michael Clement to score from third, giving Helias a 3-0 advantage.
"We definitely learned a lot of lessons tonight," Blair Oaks coach Mike DeMilia said. "They're a veteran ballclub, they did the little things that we didn't do. That's why they won."
The Falcons' best scoring chance came in the bottom of the fifth. After two quick outs, Cameron Hardwick singled, Riley Lentz doubled and Nolan Hair walked to load the bases.
Kempker, the next batter, hit a ground ball that took a bad hop off the glove of Hood, the Helias first baseman. Schnieders, the second baseman, backed up the play and retrieved the ball, making the toss to McKenna at first base ahead of a diving Kempker for the third out.
"We always preach, 'Keep playing until the out's recorded,'" Wyrick said. " We had guys where they were supposed to be, and that's why we got the out."
Helias tacked on an insurance run in the sixth inning when Schnieders scored on a wild pitch that only got 10 feet away from Blair Oaks catcher Kamron Morriss.
"That was heads up on Parker's part," Wyrick said of Schnieders, who went 2-for-3 and opened the sixth with a single. " He actually called the curveball in the dirt and got an outstanding jump and scored. That was good baseball IQ on his part."
Four of Blair Oaks' five hits came from its Nos. 7-9 hitters. Hardwick, the No. 8 hitter, went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles.
"Good pitching beats good hitting, and I think that's what happened tonight," DeMilia said.
McKenna struck out eight and allowed one walk in his shutout victory. Helias has given up just one run in its past three games.
"You throw out the Rock Bridge game, and we've played some pretty good baseball," Wyrick said.
Dell took the loss for Blair Oaks. In five innings, he allowed three runs on three hits and three walks while striking out three. Parker Bax pitched the last two innings, finishing with a strikeout.
"He's only started four or five games on varsity, so he did great in this game against this team," DeMilia said of Dell, a sophomore right-hander. "He had pitched against Hickman earlier this year and did the same type of thing. He hangs in there."
Blair Oaks is the only Class 4 District 9 opponent on Helias' schedule, while the Falcons dropped to 0-2 against district foes.
"This game was big for us to get a good seed at districts," Wyrick said.
Helias (12-5), ranked No. 7 in Class 4, hosts Eldon on Thursday.
Blair Oaks (8-14) plays South Callaway and Scott City on Saturday in Mokane.
In Tuesday's JV game, Helias defeated Blair Oaks 11-1 in five innings.