Seven-run fourth inning leads Blair Oaks past California

Nolan Hair of Blair Oaks slides into third base to beat a throw from the outfield during Monday's game against California at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
Nolan Hair of Blair Oaks slides into third base to beat a throw from the outfield during Monday's game against California at the Falcon Athletic Complex.

WARDSVILLE, Mo. - For a few minutes, the Blair Oaks Falcons had their path toward a share of the Tri-County Conference baseball championship derailed by the California Pintos.

Then the bottom of the fourth inning happened.

Blair Oaks scored seven runs in that inning Monday, which turned a one-run deficit into an 11-5 win against California in its final home game at the Falcon Athletic Complex.

"When they took that lead, they got all of the momentum," Blair Oaks coach Mike DeMilia said of the Pintos, who scored twice in the top half of the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. "If they hold us scoreless there, this is a whole different ballgame.

"But we responded right away, ran the bases well, got a couple of key hits and away we went."

Eight consecutive batters reached base for the Falcons in the fourth.

With the 7-8-9 batters coming to the plate, Maclaine McCarter drew a one-out walk, then Cameron Hardwick lashed a double down the left-field line to put two runners in scoring position.

"I feel good with our lineup every day, one through nine," DeMilia said. "We don't necessarily have that guy who's batting .450 with 15 doubles, so we have to rely on one through nine to do it."

Blair Oaks' No. 9 hitter, Seth DeWesplore, fell behind 0-2 before taking three straight pitches that just missed the inside corner. With a full count, DeWesplore pulled an outside pitch that went just over the reach of California third baseman Kraig Walker and into left field, scoring Hardwick and courtesy runner Riley Lentz to give the Falcons a 5-4 lead.

"He had an at-bat earlier in the game when he got hit in the chest trying to bunt, and he was hurting," DeMilia said. "Seth is one of those guys who will have a bad swing, but he'll get his focus back and he'll battle.

"That was a huge at-bat."

Blair Oaks added five more runs in the inning, starting with a two-run single by Bryce Kempker. Parker Bax and Ian Nolph added back-to-back RBI singles and Jacob Stegemann's squeeze bunt scored Bax to extend the lead to 10-4.

That big inning put Blair Oaks starting pitcher Colton Hoelscher in line for the win. The senior left-hander only allowed three hits in four innings and he struck out four, but it was the seven walks that made for a tough outing for Hoelscher.

"It could have been real bad," DeMilia said. "Fortunately, he made pitches when he had to."

DeMilia went to the mound to take Hoelscher out of the game after his seventh walk, but Hoelscher talked his coach into keeping him in the game.

The next batter, Jacob Wolken, hit a two-out, two-run single into center field to give the Pintos the 4-3 lead.

"I was fine with that," DeMilia said. "I was going to take him out, and he said, 'I got this guy.' He didn't get the guy, but I was proud of Colton for that."

Kamron Morriss pitched the next 2 inning for the Falcons, striking out five while walking three and allowing a run in the top of the seventh. Jacob Rademan came in and struck out the last batter to end the game.

Blair Oaks had five stolen bases in a three-run first inning and finished the game with 13 swipes.

"We got a feel that we could get a read on their pitcher, and we decided to press the issue," DeMilia said.

Eight players had one hit each for Blair Oaks, as Nolan Hair, Stegemann and Morriss each singled.

Hayden Green, who was on a roll entering the fourth inning, took the loss on the mound for the Pintos. In 3 innings, he allowed 10 runs on eight hits with four walks and two strikeouts.

Three of California's five hits plated runs. Tagen Higgins went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and one RBI to lead the Pintos.

Blair Oaks (12-17, 5-1 Tri-County) wraps up the regular season Wednesday at School of the Osage. The Falcons need a win to finish in a three-way tie with Hallsville and Southern Boone for the conference title.

"It hasn't been the best season record-wise, but we've won the games we had to in conference," DeMilia said. " If we can win that, get a conference title and get some momentum going into districts, that would be a great accomplishment for this team."

California (12-9, 3-4 Tri-County) wrapped up the regular season Monday. The Pintos are the No. 2 seed in the Class 3 District 13 Tournament and will host the winner of Father Tolton and Versailles at 6:30 p.m. next Monday.

In Monday's JV game, Blair Oaks beat California 4-3 to improve to 12-8. Cole Jungmeyer struck out eight batters in five innings and also collected two RBI at the plate for the Falcons.