The Helias Crusaders had won games by an average of nearly seven runs in their 3-0 start to the season.
They had a battle on their hands Tuesday against the Boonville Pirates.
"Battle is a very good word, we had to do that," Helias coach Chris Wyrick said after the Crusaders rallied to edge the Pirates 3-2 in eight innings at the American Legion Post 5 Sports Complex. "Getting single runs in the last three innings shows that we didn't quit."
Zach Woehr had the game-winner for the Crusaders, lining a 1-2 pitch to right field for a single to score Jason Haselhorst with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.
"I tried to just shut everything out and focus on doing my own thing," Woehr said. "I just wanted to hit the ball hard somewhere.
"It shows that we can fight back when we're down. It was a good team win."
With the game tied at 2, Michael Snyder of the Crusaders led off the inning and reached when a third strike got away from the Boonville catcher. Haselhorst came on as a courtesy runner for Snyder.
One out later, Dawson Meyer singled to left to move Haselhorst to second. A fielder's choice put runners at the corners with two outs and the Pirates opted to intentionally walk Trevor Austin to bring Woehr to the plate.
"Zach did the right thing with that pitch, just hit it the other way," Wyrick said.
Starting pitchers Zach Davidson of Helias and Connor Barnes of Boonville matched zeroes on the scoreboard through the first five innings Tuesday.
The Pirates had just two baserunners and 11 strikeouts through five against Davidson. On the other side, the Crusaders had seven baserunners against Barnes, but couldn't score.
"(Barnes) kept us off-balance, he filled up the strike zone," Wyrick said. "We weren't as aggressive as we needed to be with as many strikes as he throws."
Boonville got on the board in the top of the sixth. Peyton Keeran hit a one-out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. One out later, Barnes walked as Keeran stole third on ball four. Courtesy runner Hunter Pethan stole second to put two Pirates in scoring position.
Dylan Watson then hit a grounder to third and the throw to first was wide as both Pirates scored.
It was a rare defensive miscue for the Crusaders this season. Adding in the problems pushing across a run early in the game, it was a frustrating first 5 innings for Wyrick.
"The fundamentals let us down and it almost cost us the game," he said. "That's all we're doing in practice (today) because they let us down everywhere. It's back to basics."
Helias got one of the runs back in the bottom of the sixth. Jacob Weaver singled with one out and moved to third when Snyder singled to left and got to second on the throw to third.
"That was huge, we're probably struggling to even score a run without Michael's hit," Wyrick said. "He puts in the work to be successful, he just needs to put the ball in play a little more."
After a strikeout, Meyer singled to score Weaver, but courtesy runner Alex Loethen was called out after being tagged on the helmet on a close play at the plate.
Davidson set the Pirates down in order in the top of the seventh to wrap up his day. The senior allowed two hits and walked two while striking out 14.
"He had good stuff, even when he was missing, it wasn't by much," Wyrick said. "It was darn near a strike every time with his pitches, no matter what he was throwing."
The Pirates took a lot of strikes Tuesday.
"It's Zach's motion, he's tough to pick up," Wyrick said. "When he fills up the strike zone, he's tough to hit."
The Crusaders tied it in the bottom of the seventh. Jason Binkley led off with a single to left before Austin drilled an 0-2 pitch to dead center for a double to score Binkley.
"He squared it up to the deepest part of the park," Wyrick said.
That ended Barnes' day as Trae Williams came on in relief. He struck out the next two Crusaders, and after Davidson walked, got out of the inning with a grounder back to the mound to send the game to the eighth.
Meyer came on to pitch for the Crusaders and he set down the Pirates in order in the eighth to get the victory.
"That's a good program we beat, we were a little fortunate to win," Wyrick said. "Hopefully we learn a lesson from this about doing the little things because we don't want games to come down to the end like this one did."
Boonville, ranked No. 3 in Class 4 in the preseason Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association poll, is now 2-5. Four of those losses came on a trip to Alabama.
Helias (4-0, ranked No. 6 in Class 4) is back in action in the Blue and Red Tournament this Friday and Saturday in Springfield.
"We're doing pretty well and things can still get better," Woehr said.
Helias will face Glendale, Hillcrest, Kickapoo and Parkview in the tournament.