WARDSVILLE - It was the kind of game you expect to see when the Helias Crusaders and the Blair Oaks Falcons meet on the baseball diamond.
"It felt like a mid-spring game against Blair Oaks at their place," Helias coach Garrett Wiggans said after the Crusaders defeated the Falcons 3-1 in Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader at the Falcon Athletic Complex. "It was a good crowd, we battled and we waited a little late to make our move, but that's good baseball."
Blair Oaks was scheduled to host Helias in late April this season, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. The two teams potentially could have met again last month in the Class 4 District 10 Tournament, but that too was canceled.
"I was pretty pumped up during the game, because we haven't had that atmosphere," Blair Oaks coach Justin Buschjost said. "It was 1-1 most of the game, it was a pitchers' duel for the most part. I haven't felt that in over a year."
The score was tied at 1 through six innings in Game 1. Helias threatened in the seventh, putting runners on first and third base with just one out. Blair Oaks then intentionally walked Trevor Austin - who had already homered in the game - to load the bases.
Zach Wolken stepped to the plate with a chance to give Helias its first lead of the game. Wolken fouled off four pitches with two strikes before pulling through with a bloop single into left field, scoring Griffin Buschjost to make the score 2-1.
Wolken's clutch at-bat was the deciding factor in the game.
"It felt like the whole at-bat he was 0-2," Wiggans said. "That's what we preach, foul off tough pitches. If it's something that you can't handle, foul it off and get something that you can. He sure did that.
"That's the stuff that makes it feel like a mid-spring game, when you have at-bats like that in a pitchers' duel."
The next batter, Jacob Weaver, hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Zach Paschal and give Helias an insurance run heading into the bottom of the seventh.
Kaleb Haley, who had pitched the first six innings for the Crusaders, struck out the first two batters, then worked around a two-out walk to get a groundout and end the game.
"He told me the sixth inning was probably his last one," Wiggans said of Haley, who threw 112 pitches while striking out seven and walking four. "He got out of a huge jam and then trotted out for the seventh, and I was like, 'All right, go get 'em.'"
Blair Oaks struck first with its lone run in the bottom of the first. Kamron Morriss doubled down the left-field line, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout by Levi Haney.
"That let us get loose a little bit and not too uptight," Buschjost said. "We weren't as stressed. We got that one run."
Helias stranded five runners on base through the first two innings. Then Austin led off the third with a solo home run to left field, his third homer through two weeks of the summer league.
"He hit that ball a long way," Wiggans said. "Trevor's swing is just a little different than most people's. He jump-started us big time with that solo shot."
Blair Oaks escaped jams in the fourth and fifth innings by turning double plays, both balls hit to Lane Libbert at shortstop. The Falcons looked poised to take the lead in the sixth, until Helias returned the favor with a double play hit to Austin at shortstop, stranding the go-ahead run at third base.
"I was thinking, 'Yes, we scored a run,'" Buschjost said. "I think I even gave a little fist pump. And then I saw it was hit right to the shortstop for an easy double-play ball."
Morriss and Haney each had a single and a double for Blair Oaks. Peyton Huddleston and Griffin Buschjost each hit two singles for Helias.
The Falcons used three pitchers in Game 1. Jacob Rademan pitched the first three innings, while Cole Jungmeyer and Cade Stockman each threw two innings of relief.
Game 2 was a different story. By the end of the first inning, there were already more runs scored than all of Game 1.
Helias batted around twice and held on for a 12-8 victory, sweeping the doubleheader.
"It can be hard to be motivated for the second game after you sit around for the first game," Wiggans said. "But you have to give them credit. There's 20 runs on the scoreboard right now, there was a lot of offense."
Paschal had a single and a triple with two RBI for Helias, while Aleck Barchenski had a single, a double and two RBI. Austin and Wolken each had two singles.
For Blair Oaks, Morriss went 3-for-4 with two singles, a double and three RBI. Hayden Salmons added a single, a double and two RBI.
"We did lose these two games, but this summer, a lot of it is focused on the spring, we're not playing a state championship after this," Buschjost said. "We're looking to improve, we're looking to learn from our mistakes. That's really what the summer is for."
The summer league resumes Tuesday. Helias will play Jefferson City at Vivion Field, while Blair Oaks will play a doubleheader at Fulton.
"I wouldn't say we're quite at midseason form, but it looks like real baseball," Wiggans said.