McHenry didn’t have a hit until the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Warriors, whose offense entered Friday’s Fox Valley Conference game against Crystal Lake South averaging over 11 runs a game, had a tough time hitting the ball out of the infield. But McHenry managed to manufacture runs another way, drawing walks and putting hit batters on base to score twice in the third and once in the fifth.

That was all junior right-hander Ian Boland and senior left-hander Nathan Neidhardt needed. Boland struck out six and held South to two hits over five frames, while Neidhardt fired two scoreless innings of relief to clinch the Warriors’ 3-2 victory over the Gators. McHenry (8-2-1, 3-0 FVC) will face South in Crystal Lake on Monday.

“I was really confident in my team,” Boland said. “I knew they had my back, so I was always confident. I knew we had it. ... It shows we can win in many different ways, whether it’s our hitting or our defense.”

Boland, whose arsenal included fastballs and a combination of sliders and curveballs, had a perfect game and five strikeouts through three innings. On the other side, South starter Michael Silvius was equally effective in the early innings. The junior right-hander, who leaned on a sharp changeup, didn’t allow a hit over his three innings of work.

“I had a nice feel for my changeup today,” Silvius said. “Everything was sinking together after that first inning. I had confidence that we could get runs and we came up short at the end, but during those three innings, I felt confident that my defense would back me up.”

Putting two runners on with no outs to start the bottom of the third, McHenry went up 1-0 when Landon Clements bounced a grounder to short. South shortstop Carson Trivellini flicked the ball to second for one out, but the throw to first base was short and got away from Wes Bogda, allowing courtesy runner Cam Polerecky to cross home plate.

“They did a good job of keeping our guys off balance,” McHenry coach Brian Rockweiler said. “Every time we play them, they have a really good plan and they execute it pretty well. We just took advantage of what was given to us. We had some walks, we read some balls in the dirt and manufactured runs. Defensively, we played really well.”

Clements then scored on a wild pitch two batters later. In the top of the fourth, South (6-3, 1-2 FVC) capitalized on some good fortune and a dose of small ball. After Michael Rathjen beat out an infield single, Nolan Dabrowski laid a bunt down and Nick Stowasser drove Rathjen home with a ground ball that deflected off Boland’s leg.

Silvius then reached on a slow dribbler down the third-base line. On a balk, South tied the score at 2-2. Small ball continued in the bottom of the fifth, where back-to-back walks led to a sacrifice bunt from Clements. An intentional walk loaded the bases for Kaden Wasniewski, who gave the Warriors a one-run lead on an RBI groundout to third.

“Early on, I would’ve liked to see us be a little more aggressive,” South coach Brian Bogda said. “I thought we sat back a little bit, so we’re trying to make some adjustments and bounce back from that.”

Neidhardt took the mound to start the sixth inning. Primarily used as a reliever, Neidhardt cruised through the sixth and worked around a jam in the seventh to seal McHenry’s victory. After South’s Jackson Lee doubled to start the final frame, Neidhardt retired three batters in a row, two on ground balls and the third on a flyout to deep right field.

“My approach is to just compete, throw strikes and make the batters work,” Neidhardt said. “The two-seam was working well and the cutter was working well. I typically enter in relief, but I’ve had a few starts here and there. I just have to compete when I have more eyes on me.”

McHenry, which broke up South’s no-hit bid on a Garet Lobbins double in the sixth, threatened to surge ahead after Jeffry Schwab reached on an infield single to third. But Dabrowski, thinking quickly in left field, retired Carter Thornton on a flyout before firing the ball on a line to Trivellini at second, doubling off Polerecky to end the frame.