BENTON, Mo. — It took longer than expected for the Kelly baseball team to find its rhythm. The Hawks mustered three of their six hits through the first four innings but could never plate one run across during that stretch. However, the bats woke up late, and the runs followed suit, as Kelly (3-0) defeated New Madrid County Central (0-1) 9-3 at Thomas W. Kelly High School in Benton on Monday. "We saw some slower pitching on Saturday, and then today, we saw a guy that was throwing mid-to-upper 70s," Kelly head coach Jeremy Smith said. "For us, it's more about adjustments. So, we got behind on some counts, and then we're just chasing stuff." After back-to-back outs to start the second frame, junior Nate Pipkin drew a walk that ignited the NMCC rally. Fellow junior Ken King followed up with a walk of his own before senior Kannon Nowell drove in the game's first run. On the sixth pitch from Kelly junior Gavin Jansen, Nowell hit the ball high enough for the wind to confuse the Hawks' shortstop and center fielder. The ball would drop in-between both defenders, allowing Eagles freshman Ty Williams — who courtesy ran for Pipkin — to score and make it 1-0. The miscues wouldn't stop there, though. Shortly after the misplayed ball in the outfield, a botched pickoff attempt by the Hawks led to King scoring from the third base for the second and final run of the frame. "We were trying to be aggressive on the bases," NMCC head coach Joseph McClarty said. "We had a first-and-third situation, had some decent speed on the bases, and we wanted to see if we could steal a run there, which is what we did. We got the pickoff throw to first, and it was a bad throw, and so we were able to steal a run there. That's what we're going to have to do, especially early on. I felt early in the game that we were aggressive at the plate and looking for a good pitch to hit." That approach continued in the third inning, as the Eagles would tack-on another run to make it 3-0. Junior Jace Robinson drew a walk to lead off the frame, while senior Landon McDaniel hit a single to put runners on the corners for junior Matt Riley. And, the Eagles' starting quarterback wouldn't waste any time. Riley made it a three-run game on one swing of the bat as he drove-in Robinson with an RBI single. Riley finished 1-for-3 on the day. As the game moved along, Kelly eventually saw itself down three runs with not that many chances left. The Hawks needed a spark. With the bottom-of-the-order due up, Kelly would get just that. Junior Hunter Johnson started the Hawks' comeback by getting hit by a pitch, while freshman Dalton Forck followed by drawing a walk to set up a situation for junior Ty Powers. The nine-hole hitter delivered as he laid down a picture-perfect bunt attempt that rolled right toward the third-base line. Powers' bunt allowed him to reach first easily and load the bases for the top-of-the-order. "With his speed, he can do a lot of different things, and that's one of the things that I love about this team," Smith said. "We have so much speed, and that is a weapon that we're going to utilize. So, once the bases are loaded, energy starts to change, momentum starts to change, and we put a lot more pressure on their pitcher." After the well-executed bunt, leadoff hitter Drew Dirnberger started the six-run outburst by plating Johnson with an RBI single to make it 3-1. Back-to-back bases-loaded walks then tied the game at three after Jansen and senior Bryce Morgan worked free passes, and from there, the momentum shifted. Kelly tacked-on three more runs to take a 6-3 advantage heading into the sixth frame and never looked back. "I love the response that our guys had," Smith said. "We had a lot more energy, and we had a better focus; we made some adjustments with our approach, and guys did jobs." Dirnberger was the lone player on either team to record multiple hits, going 2-for-2 with two runs and one RBI. Jansen went 1-for-3, with two runs and three RBIs. He also threw two innings on the mound, giving up one hit and one earned run while fanning three and walking two batters. Morgan came in for relief of Jansen and didn't allow very much damage to ensue. He pitched five innings and gave up three hits and one earned run while punching-out seven and walking three. For the Eagles, sophomore Clay Cope pitched 4 1/3 innings. He gave up five hits and five earned runs while striking out four and walking four. Riley also saw some action toeing the slab, as he threw 1 2/3 innings of one-hit, one earned run-ball. He struck out three batters and walked three, as well. With only three seniors on the team, McClarty knows that he has a group that doesn't have a ton of experience. At the same time, though, he is also grateful that he is coaching after a long layoff. "I'm very excited to be back out here," McClarty said. "We got to have a little bit of a fall season, but all of our guys weren't on the fall team. It was great to be able to compete again. I was proud of our kids and how we competed." Kelly hosts East Prairie (1-0) on Thursday at 4:30 p.m., while NMCC plays at Dexter (0-2) on Friday at 4 p.m. NMCC 021 000 0 — 3 4 2 Kelly 000 063 X — 9 6 2 WP — Bryce Morgan. LP — Clay Cope. 2B — Chris Grissom (N). Multiple hitters: Kelly — Drew Dirnberger 2-2.