OTTUMWA — Stop, then start.

Mount Pleasant’s Blake Heitmeier might need a refresher course on his mechanics.

The Panther star standout’s consecutive balks in the last half of the sixth inning overshadowed a fine outing from freshman hurler Cameron Enberg.

Mount Pleasant’s loss — Ottumwa’s gain.

Those balks were critical in a three-run sixth as the Ottumwa baseball team rallied for a 6-5 win over the ninth-ranked Panthers at Legion Field on Tuesday.

The fateful sixth inning for Mount Pleasant didn’t start well as Weston Mitchell reached base after an error at second. He would score to tie the game at 4-4 after Kyle Ward was hit with the bases loaded.

All the runs for Ottumwa came with two outs.

Ward ripped a RBI single in the first inning, followed by Seth Jones’ run-scoring hit a batter later.

Ottumwa head coach Ryan Woods talked about Ward’s at bat in the sixth.

“That’s a great at bat right there. We’ll take that run,” said Woods.

Woods commented that he had never seen the two balks issued in a row in his career — especially given the circumstance.

He did discuss the unfortunate gaffes with Mount Pleasant’s head coach Brent Broeker.

“I will say this and their coach agrees — he was balking. He wasn’t pausing. He was basically bouncin’,” said Woods, in his final year as head coach of Ottumwa.

Mount Pleasant (16-7, 8-0) touched Bulldog sophomore starter Zach Throckmorton for three runs in the first — highlighted by Blake Heitmeier’s two-run double.

Throckmorton would settle and give Woods five quality innings. Ward relieved Throckmorton and earned the win. OHS soph Brandon Enloe registered the game’s final out with runners on first and second for the save.