Pitcher Dominates On Senior Day As Knights Blank Christiansburg 4-0

Cave Spring second baseman Cole Flora camps out for the catch of a skied infield popup Tuesday afternoon as the Knights topped Christiansburg 4-0.
Cave Spring second baseman Cole Flora camps out for the catch of a skied infield popup Tuesday afternoon as the Knights topped Christiansburg 4-0.

Tuesday afternoon at Knights Field it was Senior Day for the Cave Spring baseball team.

Starting pitcher Thomas Forest made sure the upperclassmen went out in style.

Throwing a masterful complete game two-hitter, the lefty struck out nine as Cave Spring blanked the visitors from Christiansburg 4-0.

“Today, we had Thomas just focus on pitching,” Cave Spring head coach Ricky Lonker said as the Knights gathered post-game. “He was in a groove out there. He had command of all three of his pitches.”

Forest went through the Blue Demons in order in the first and second innings, before the Knights provided all the support he would need with a pair of runs in both the second and third.

In the second, Trey Hodson singled, Justin Larkin walked and Kodi McIlwraith beat out a slow roller to load the bases. Hodson then stole home on an attempted suicide squeeze that saw ball escape Christiansburg catcher John Tuck.

Shaken Blue Demon pitcher Zach Shepherd then walked Nelson Stanley to reload the bases and Isaac Yeaman drew a second straight base on balls to force in the second Knight run.

In the Knight third, a walk and hit batsman put runners on first and second. McIlwraith singled to plate one run after an error on the hit by the Blue Demon center fielder. Adam Huffman walked to load the bases, ending the day on the hill for Shepherd. Stanley followed with a bases on balls against Christiansburg reliever Christian Wallace, forcing in a second run in as many innings via the walk.

Cave Spring missed a golden opportunity to pad the lead in the sixth after three straight singles loaded the bases with one out. But, Blue Demon reliever Logan Forster got out of the jam with two straight strikeouts.

Forest finished off his gem for Cave Spring by retiring Christiansburg in order in the top of the seventh.

McIlwraith, Cole Flora and Jordan Stovall each had two hits for Cave Spring.

The Knights now prepares for Thursday’s key matchup against rival Hidden Valley at Titan Field.

“We need to play like this in the next three weeks,” Lonker noted. “This district is wide open.”

Bill Turner

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