BY JOSH FLOYD
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
BRISTOL, Va. — Having one exemplary pitcher in regional play is almost a necessity. With two proven hurlers and fairly solid defense, teams usually can vault into the state tournament.
But four pitchers? That’s a unique, yet favorable “dilemma” — one that put host John Battle into some rather elite company Tuesday.
Four different Trojan pitchers — Joseph Timp, Paul Denton, Tim Arnold and Justin Hutton — combined to toss a no-hitter in a 5-0 victory over Twin Springs during Region D first-round play. The win propels Battle (17-5), the Clinch Mountain District regular-season champion, into today’s 5 p.m. semifinal matchup at Honaker against J.J. Kelly.
Ironically, the no-no wasn’t really on the collective minds of the Trojan roster, even from the hurlers themselves.
“I didn’t realize it until after the game when everybody then started talking about it,” said Denton, who struck out three in two frames to earn the decision. “All four pitchers threw great.”
Battle’s quadruple attack compiled seven strikeouts and, more importantly, no walks. In fact, the Trojans amassed only one three-ball count all game, keeping all but two Titan attempts within the infield.
“We never put any pressure on them, so that made it pretty easy,” Twin Springs coach Mike Castle said.
Battle’s Josh Osborne and Taryn Hayden, meanwhile, certainly played Tuesday’s tilt correctly. The duo collected a whopping five hits, four RBIs and three runs for the Trojans, who also received a run-producing sacrifice fly from Arnold in the third for a 3-0 advantage.
“We’re just fortunate to pick it up, because Twin Springs really fought today,” said Battle coach Larry Cannon. “We had some good pitching and some timely hitting ... so we’re happy.”
The Titans (13-10), who recently ran the table against the top three Cumberland District seeds to win the tourney and gain a Region D berth, return 10 players next season.
“We’re relatively young,” Castle said. “Hopefully, with the experience that we’ve gained by making the region, it’ll help us in our district. And hopefully, we’ll get back here next year.”
Twin Springs 000 000 0—0 0 0
John Battle 102 002 x—5 9 3
Meade and Salyer. Timp, Denton (3), Arnold (5), Hutton (6) and Jones. W —Denton (4-0). L—Meade (8-7). HR— None.
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