by Bill Turner
The rain man turned havoc on the final week of district baseball and softball races after all of Tuesday’s games were postponed by the day-long drencher. Athletic directors were scrambling to reschedule games in order to hopefully get the regular season completed by the end of this week. Many teams were planning on back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday.
Another shake-up occurred in the Wild Bill Baseball Top-3 after Lord Botetourt suffered its second straight loss. Hidden Valley (13-3) now holds down the number one spot this week with tough games left at Salem and Cave Spring. Cave Spring (11-7) moves to second on the strength of its undefeated record in the River Ridge. Botetourt (15-5) falls to third. Despite the back-to-back losses to William Byrd and Northside, LB has clinched the Blue Ridge regular season title.
Other pollbusters on the horizon include North Cross (15-5), Salem (10-4) and Northside (13-6).
Weather permitting, the best game in the area looks to be set for Thursday afternoon when Hidden Valley travels to Cave Spring. The Knights won the first meeting 4-3, and Hidden Valley is hoping to overtake the Knights to force a one-game playoff for the River Ridge title.
Hidden Valley’s focus on this River Ridge showdown was fairly evident in last Friday’s unusual game of the week, when the Titans defeated Pulaski County 10-0. Hidden Valley starting pitcher Andy Richards was pulled after four innings despite having a no-hitter in the works. Hidden Valley head coach Jason Taylor was obviously getting his pitching rotation and bullpen set for the Knights.
The Wild Bill Softball Top-3 once again gets a change as William Byrd (13-4) returns to the #1 spot. Northside (16-3) falls to second after its loss to Lord Botetourt Monday that may well cost the Lady Vikings a shot at the Blue Ridge regular season championship. Salem (12-6) rolls into the poll at #3 as the Spartans look to overtake what appeared to be a comfortable Cave Spring lead in the River Ridge race only two weeks ago.
The Salem Red Sox have hit their first mini-slump of the season, and the Sox fell out of first place in the Southern Division of the Carolina League for the first time since the third week of April. Salem hits the road Friday, May 20th, for a week-long trip to Winston-Salem and Myrtle Beach.
Basketball campers should take note of two high-profile opportunities in June and July. The Future Knights Basketball Camp will be held June 20-23 at Cave Spring High School. The camp is for boys ages 8-13 and is under the direction of Cave Spring Head Coach Billy Hicks, who has three state championships while at Cave Spring.
The Carter Athletic Center at North Cross will be the site of the J.J. Redick basketball camp July 25-27. The former Cave Spring and current Orlando Magic star will direct the camp for boys, ages 13-18, and is limited to the first 60 sign-ups.
Now, we turn to our quarterly installment of “Can You Help Me ?” where readers are invited to offer their take on consumer questions that perplex the Wild One.
Last week’s last date for frost brought out the old reliable ads for the Topsy-Turvy, some type of contraption that grows tomatoes upside down. My best research shows that tomatoes have been around for centuries, with little problem growing them from the ground-up. What’s the key to planting them backwards? Likewise, I need help with my tomato etiquette. If you grow your tomatoes via the Topsy-Turvy, is it appropriate to place them at the bottom of a tossed salad or under the patty of a standard hamburger? Can you help me?
I’ve also been stumped by a recent offering for a ‘sheet’ of four $2-dollar bills. The picture portrays several guards keeping an eye on what appears to be sheets big enough to wallpaper a bathroom. I’ve got news for you; four $2- bills aren’t big enough to cover the toilet seat. And, how do you make change for a sheet of $2-bills when the offer doesn’t include scissors? I was suspicious when I saw this offering was selected specifically for my zip code. The price was the clincher- four $2-bills for $ 48.00. Sorry, but my math isn’t quite that bad.
Quotation of the week: “Marriage is a fine institution … but, I’m not ready for an institution.” – Mae West
Send your responses to: [email protected]
