ANTHONY STEVENS
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
CASTLEWOOD, Va. — A sixth-seed will advance to the Region D baseball tournament.
Twin Springs advanced with a 3-1 upset of second-seeded Thomas Walker on Wednesday in the semifinals of the Cumberland District tournament at Castlewood High School.
Senior Gaven Meade tossed a gem for the Titans (12-9) and helped the team advance to the regional tournament for the first time since his freshman season.
“I don’t believe anyone had any confidence in us,” Meade said. “The defense played well behind me, everything was working but I had the most success with my curve.”
The only run Meade gave up came in the first inning as Hagan Hensley scored on a wild pitch.
The Titans tied the game in the second inning on a double steal as courtesy runner Adam Gillenwater raced home.
It was a duel between Meade and Pioneer starter Mikey Pauley from that point as the game remain tied until the seventh inning.
Kris Jordan reached for Twin Springs on an error and stole second. Aaron McCoy tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt twice, but couldn’t get it down. Then, with two strikes he swung and hit a sharp liner to right to score Jordan with the go-ahead run.
“McCoy got hurt in the first inning but he got the huge hit,” Twin Springs coach Mike Castle said. “McCoy is as good of a freshman as you’re going to find. He’s started every game at shortstop for us and is a great ballplayer.”
Trevor Criswell added a double to score McCoy to give the Titans a 3-1 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Zach Hensley singled with two outs for the Pioneers, but Meade got a groundout to end the game.
It was a tough loss for Thomas Walker (16-6) who has finished just short of advancing to the regional tournament several times. The Pioneers had swept the regular season series with Twin Springs.
“Six of the last eight years we’ve been within one game of the region,” TW coach Tim McElyea said. “Hats off to Twin Springs, Meade was a bulldog today. They got some timely hits and we didn’t.”
Twin Springs 010 000 2 – 3 8 1
Thomas Walker 100 000 0 – 1 8 1
Meade and Salyer. Pauley and Hall. W—Meade (8-6). L—Pauley (6-2). HR—none.
Castlewood 16, Rye Cove 7
In the opener, regular-season champion Castlewood advanced to the title game, capitalizing on several Rye Cove miscues on their way to a win. The Blue Devils (13-6) scored five runs in the first inning without the benefit of a hit, when the Eagles committed five errors. They finished with 10 errors.
“We gave Castlewood five or six outs most innings, we just didn’t make the routine plays,” Rye Cove coach Terry Fields said . “At the end of the season we’ve been making those plays. We hit the ball well enough to win but you can’t beat Castlewood making 10 errors and they weren’t difficult plays.”
Corey Davis had two hits and drove in three runs to lead the Castlewood offense, while Dylan Harding had two hits and two RBIs. Chris Smith struck out 10 in a complete-game effort on the mound.
Jacob Arwood continued his torrid hitting for Rye Cove, going 2-for-4 with a solo homer.
Castlewood will host Rye Cove in the championship game on Friday at 5 p.m.
Rye Cove 150 010 0 – 7 7 10
Castlewood 541 033 x – 16 9 3
Pearcy, James (5) and Hensley. Smith and Byerley. W—Smith (3-1). L—Pearcy (2-4). HR—Arwood (RC), 5th, none on.
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