WARDSVILLE - For a team that hasn't been to a baseball Final Four in 12 years, the Blair Oaks Falcons aren't showing any nerves, acting as if they expected to be in this position all along.
Gone is the team that had a sub-.500 record in late April, the team that started 0-3 in Tri-County Conference play, the team that finished in ninth place in the Columbia Tournament. That's all in the past.
Currently riding the second-longest active winning streak in the state, Blair Oaks is simply focused on staying sharp and loose at the same time.
"I want us to be laid back," Blair Oaks coach Mike DeMilia said, as his team is set to face the Montgomery County Wildcats in the Class 3 semifinals at 6:30 p.m. Monday at CarShield Field in O'Fallon.
"There have been a couple moments here in the postseason when we felt a little bit of tension, especially offensively. Whenever we actually calmed ourselves down, we ended up being really good after it. We have to stay as relaxed as possible and not let the moment get too big."
There were tense moments, especially during the Falcons' first game of the Class 3 District 14 Tournament. Trailing 1-0 after four innings, Blair Oaks was beginning to wonder if the offense would show up in the postseason.
A pair of four-run innings in the fifth and sixth jump-started an offense that hasn't slowed down since, scoring 45 runs in its last 17 innings.
A lot of that has to do with assembling a balanced batting order. Eight of Blair Oaks' nine offensive starters during the state tournament are batting better than .300, and the Falcons have a .323 team batting average for the season.
"We don't necessarily have that one big, stud player, but we also don't have any weaknesses in our lineup, on the field or in our pitching staff," DeMilia said. "If we have a pitcher who doesn't have it, we can go to our 'pen and not lose anything.
"Our opponents are really going to rely on that one arm, or those three or four hitters. We don't have to do that, so that's an advantage for us."
Leading the way at the plate this season for Blair Oaks is David Dell, who is batting .375. He is hitting 6-for-7 in his last two games, which includes two triples.
"He knows he's not a huge power guy, he's more of a singles and doubles guy," DeMilia said. "If he sticks to that approach and stays within himself and tries to get the barrel to the ball, he does some good things. He's a little streaky at times, but the longer the season goes, the more consistently he hits the ball hard."
Blair Oaks' offensive production has been tough to handle in May, but DeMilia credits the defense and pitching just as much as the bats. No team has scored more than three runs in the past month against them.
"If you don't give up many runs, it takes the pressure off your offense," DeMilia said. " If we continue to throw strikes and continue to play great defense, that will allow our offense to do its thing."
Dell has also been overpowering on the pitcher's mound. This season, he has a 6-2 record with a 2.35 ERA, striking out 39 batters in 44 innings.
All six Blair Oaks seniors - Parker Bax, Seth DeWesplore, Hunter Forck, Nolan Hair, Maclaine McCarter and Jacob Stegemann - have been contributors during the team's postseason run.
"The way we want to play, they've led the way in doing it," DeMilia said. "It's carried over to the younger guys and hopefully it'll just keep getting better."
Blair Oaks (21-11) has won its last 11 games, but DeMilia said it was the two losses prior to the winning streak that provided the spark for the Falcons.
"We went out to Hallsville with no energy and no emotion, we didn't play hard and we weren't focused and lost a one-run game," he said. "I basically laid it on the line for them, that we weren't going to go anywhere in the postseason if we're playing like this.
"Then the next night, we played against Helias. We got down 4-0 early, and we very easily could have quit. But we kept battling, took the lead late in the game and ended up losing in the bottom of the seventh. That was the game that we showed we could compete with anybody."
Bax pitched in the sectional win against Lamar and Dell threw against Lawson in the quarterfinals, but DeMilia said he isn't sure who will get the ball against Montgomery County.
Montgomery County (17-8) is in line to pitch senior right-hander Tristan Camp, who will pitch next season at Arkansas State and has an 8-1 record in 2019 with 79 strikeouts in 49 innings.
Camp pitched a two-hitter and struck out 13 batters in seven innings last Monday in the Wildcats' 13-1 sectional win against Whitfield. He is also the leader on offense with a .355 batting average, 32 RBI and four home runs through district play.
"We've heard they have a really good catcher and we know that they have four or five guys who really swing the bat well," DeMilia said. "They played a pretty good schedule, so they've been tested in some guys."
Fatima (14-14) and 10th-ranked Saxony Lutheran (22-3) will play in the first Class 3 semifinal at 4 p.m. Monday.
The losers will play in the third-place game at 11 a.m. Tuesday, while the winners will meet for the Class 3 state championship at 1:30 p.m.
Notes: Blair Oaks is ranked No. 9 in Class 3 by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association, the highest-ranked team Class 3 team at the Final Four. Blair Oaks and Montgomery County had three common opponents this season. Both teams lost to Southern Boone, but both have defeated North Callaway and South Callaway. Savannah has the longest active winning streak ahead of Blair Oaks. The Savages lost their season opener, then won their next 25 games before advancing to the Class 4 Final Four.