"He (head coach Chris Wyrick) already knows about the win," said Helias assistant Taylor Bax, who took over for Wyrick as he served a one-game suspension for Saturday's ejection, "and I'm sure he's happy about it. But he's a perfectionist ... he's going to know we made some mistakes and we'll go back to practice (Wednesday) and get it right.

"We started bad today; we weren't focused at the beginning of the game. That will come back to bite you against good teams like Blair Oaks. But you know? We fought until the end and came out on top."

The Falcons (11-7) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first --- one run was unearned, while the other scored on Ethan Rackers' infield single. But they'd only score one more unearned run the rest of the way.

"We've preached to them all year long about jumping out early," Henke said, "but we get a few runs and we get complacent --- we don't keep tacking runs on. That's something we're going to have to coach a little better, to get it into their heads that we need to keep putting runs on the scoreboard when we have the opportunity."

Junior Connor McKenna had a lot to do with that, however. McKenna went the distance to get the win, finishing with a four-hitter, striking out five, walking two, and hitting one.

"Connor's a great pitcher and like most of the guys on our team, he's going to give it 150 percent until we get the W," Bax said. "He would tell you he didn't have his best stuff today, but he fought the whole way."

The Crusaders (11-4) --- who've won 10 of 11 --- answered in the bottom of the first on a booming RBI double by Alex Buschjost to make it 2-1.

It was only one run, but it was a big one.

"Against a team like this," Bax said, "if you get behind early, it's tough to come back. If you don't come back early on them, it gets tougher and tougher, so that was big to (have an answer)."

The Crusaders tied it in the fourth on a lead-off double by Trevor Austin, who scored on a two-out grounder by Parker Schnieders, before taking a 3-2 lead on a run-scoring single by Nick Brandt in the fifth.

The Falcons pulled even on an RBI single Taylor Swehla in the sixth, and that's where it stayed until the bottom of the seventh.

With one out, Brandt collected his second single and moved to third on the second single of the day by Zach Stiles. That closed the book on Blair Oaks starter and tough-lucker loser Ethan Rackers, who was charged with all four runs (only two earned) on eight hits.

Enter Ryan Paschal, who intentionally walked Austin to load the bases. Then on a 2-2 pitch, Dampf was hit and it was over.

"It just got away from him," Henke said. "He tried to be too fine with a curve ball and he just let it go too early."

This was a rivalry game, a pride game and --- if you're one of us who hasn't been paying close enough attention --- it was a district game, as the Falcons have moved up to Class 4 in baseball and will be in the same district with the Crusaders.

"This could have been for a No. 1 or 2 seed in the district," Henke said. "You never want to get swept in the regular season by a team that's in your district when you've been right there in both games."

For the surging Crusaders, who clipped the Falcons 5-1 earlier this month, that 1-3 start is all but forgotten.

"You can definitely feel it in the dugout, at practices, during games ... the guys want to be here, they want to win, they want to win for their teammates, their coaches, their fans," Bax said. "They're going to come out and do the right things.

"We're doing a lot of good things and that's winning us games right now. If we can keep it up going into districts, I think we'll be fine."

No buts about it.