Tuesday afternoon’s baseball matchup between Southwest County rivals Hidden Valley and Cave Spring had the makeup of a marathon over the first two innings after ten runs crossed the plate.
But Cave Spring pitcher Thomas Forest took to the mound in a relief appearance, and the steady left-hander quieted the usually potent Titan bats the rest of the way, as the Knights pulled away for the 10-5 River Ridge win at Knights Field.
Although the game was of no significance in the unusual Conference 32 playoff seeding format that only counts the teams’ second regular season matchup in May, the rivalry factor kept things interesting all afternoon.
Hidden Valley had jumped ahead in the top of the first against Knight starter Robert Milby. A single by Nick Elder and doubles by Hunter Boone and Palmer Peery had staked the Titans to a quick 2-0 lead.
Cave Spring answered in the bottom of the opening frame, with plenty of help from the Titans. The Knights loaded the bases on a single, hit batsman and error, before two successive errors by the Hidden Valley infield led to three Knight runs.
In the second, Hidden Valley used a one-out single by Teddy Paisley and double to the fence in left by Matt Whitely to put runners at second and third, ending the day on the hill for Milby.
Forest came on and only allowed a fielders choice groundout that tied things at 3.
The Knights tacked on four runs in the second on a walk, 3 singles, 3 Titan errors and a wild pitch. The 7-3 lead after two innings was more than enough for Forest, who picked up the win by going the final 5 2/3 innings, getting six strikeouts along the way.
“It’s a lot easier when the team gets you that kind of lead,” Forest said afterward. “I knew I had to throw strikes and keep it low. With that kind of lead you don’t worry about missing a spot.”
Cave Spring made it 8-3 in the third after Adam Huffman singled, stole second, advanced on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a single by Isaac Yeaman. Yeaman had three hits and 2 RBIs on the day for the Knights.
Hidden Valley made things interesting in the fourth after Paisley and Whitely got infield singles and Cody Boone walked to load the bases. Hunter Boone made it 8-5 on a 2-RBI single, but Forest escaped further damage when Cave Spring center fielder Alex Emery hauled in Nate Atkins’ deep drive to the 365-mark in dead center, leading to Forest fanning the next Titan batter for the final out.
Cave Spring added single runs in the fifth and sixth to give Forest plenty of cushion.
“We made errors and didn’t get good hops,” Hidden Valley head coach Randy Boone noted after the game. “They hit the ball hard and we didn’t. But, this one doesn’t count. We’ll get ’em next time.”
“I liked the way we finished,” Cave Spring head coach Ricky Lonker said afterward. “Thomas is usually a starter, but Milby did a good job of getting us through their lineup one time, so we brought Thomas in today as a reliever.”
“It’s my first win over Hidden Valley in my three years,” Lonker added with a grin. “Still, the other game in May is the one that counts.”
Hunter Boone paced Hidden Valley with 3 hits and 2 RBIs, with Whitely picking up a pair of Titan hits.
Bill Turner
