Richlands Wins; Bulldogs Suffer Loss in Region IV

SALEM, Va. – Richlands senior Ethain Keene was in a tough spot.

The bases were loaded with no outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the leading hitter from Hidden Valley was up in Friday’s Region IV semifinal baseball game. Richlands led 3-0 at the time. Fans from both teams on their feet for the pivotal sequence at Kiwanis Park.

“It kind of scared me a little bit, but I knew my defense was playing really good,” Keene said. “I just tried to make the batter hit the ball and roll a double play.”

Mission accomplished.

The left-handed Keene snared a sharp grounder from power-hitting catcher Eric Vess, then fired the ball to catcher Joel Elswick who converted the double play by throwing to first base. Richlands held on for the 3-0 win and berth in today’s 3 p.m. title game.

It was sweet redemption for Richlands, which lost to Hidden Valley the past two years in the Group AA quarterfinals and regional semifinals. The Blue Tornado took a 23-0 record into last year’s regional battle with Hidden Valley, which featured current New York Yankees minor-league pitcher Mikey O’Brien.

Richlands coach Brad Strong had confidence in the 6-foot-3 Keene, a football standout who pitched in Tuesday’s quarterfinal win over Bassett. Keene allowed only one hit through the first five innings Friday, finishing with a 3-hitter.

“I asked Ethain [Thursday] if he wanted the ball in this game, and he said ‘Yes Sir!’ That’s exactly what a coach likes to hear,” Strong said. “Ethain did a great job, our defense played tremendous, and we did the right things to move runners around the bases.”

It was a near-perfect performance for Richlands. All three outfielders made diving catches on the slick grass, while the Blues (15-8) collected seven hits against a pair of Titan pitchers.

As usual, sophomore Bradley Strong set the pace for Richlands on offense and defense. Strong, hitting better than .600 on the season, began the game with a triple to the center-field wall and ended the game with a diving catch on the left field line.

“After I hit the triple, it was contagious. I’ve never seen us so pumped up,” Strong said. “Keene was clutch in all the tough spots.”

Nearly every player in the Richlands lineup hit the ball hard. Reece Strong collected two singles and drove in a run, while Eric Stiltner singled and doubled. Elswick and Erik Hess drove in the other runs for Richlands.

“It’s tough getting beat by the teams from the Piedmont and River Ridge District every year,” Bradley Strong said. “We want to show them we can play ball, too, and represent the Southwest District. I think we did that today.

“Keene really got the job done for us. He was clutch in all the tough spots.

Jordan Barnette, Keene’s cousin, pitched against Hidden Valley in the last two playoff losses for Richlands. While Keene only stuck out three Friday, he kept the Hidden Valley batters guessing.

“I’ve been in some pressure situations before, so I’m kind of used to it,” Keene said. “It really helps to have a defense like I have. I expect nothing less than the best from those guys.

“It feels great to get an edge over all these teams in the playoffs. Hidden Valley has become like a long-distance rival for us. You remember all those [playoff] games.”

Hidden Valley (19-5) earned some redemption of its own late Thursday with a quarterfinal win over Abingdon, which shocked the Titans in last year’s Region IV title game. Hidden Valley coach Jason Taylor was impressed with the all-around effort of the Blues Friday.

“They made several diving catches in key situations, and their pitcher kept us off-balance,” Taylor said. “We hit the ball well at times, but we just didn’t get anything to show for it.”

Taylor lamented the lost opportunity in the sixth.

“That was big,” Taylor said. “We had the bases loaded and our best hitter up. The Richlands pitcher made a good play and it killed our rally.

“We lost of players last year and no one gave us a chance to get this far. We expected to play next week just like Richlands did.”

The Richlands coach was delighted with the aggressive approach of his squad.

“We kept putting the pressure on, and that’s what we’ve been trying to do all season,” Strong said. “The good Lord blessed us today.”

Keene was certainly counting his blessings after the emotional win.

“This is the first time I’ve ever gone to state since Little League,” Keene said. “It’s really exciting.”

Tunstall 8, Tazewell 4
The Tazewell Bulldogs collected nine hits against one of the top prep pitchers in Virginia Friday night at Kiwanis Field.

It wasn’t nearly enough.

The four-time state champion Tunstall Trojans earned an 8-4 decision over Tazewell in the Region IV semifinals.

Tunstall faces Richlands today at 3 p.m. for the regional title.

“We hit the ball, but we just didn’t get the hits back-to-back like we’ve been doing all year,” Peery said. “Give the Tunstall pitcher credit. He did a good job.”

Tazewell (20-4) compiled a team batting average in the .370 range en route to the regular season and tournament titles in the Southwest District. The Bulldogs opened a 2-0 lead in the third inning against Virginia Tech signee Joe Mantiply. The latest in a long line of elite Tunstall pitchers, the left-handed Mantiply has a career record of 33-1 and has compiled an earned run average of .0.54 with more than 80 strikeouts this season. Mantiply struck out 16 Friday, but nothing came easy.

The offensive standout for Tazewell, freshman Zak Wasilewski, who frustrated Mantiply with two singles and a solo home run in the fifth inning. Senior catcher Brusier Moore added two doubles for Tazewell but was focused on the bottom line.

“You never feel good when you don’t get the win,” Moore said. “It was a good year, but this isn’t the way we wanted to go out. We had a lot higher expectations. Tunstall had those big innings, and we never responded.”

The Bulldogs were forced to play without junior Taylor Herald, a .400 hitter who was sidelined with an ankle injury. Tyler Kitts doubled for Tazewell, while senior third baseman Trey Lambert played solid defense.

The only loss for 21-1 Tunstall came to a North Carolina school, but Mantiply said the Trojans hadn’t faced a team like Tazewell.

Tazewell pitcher Dustin Dean managed to keep avoid trouble through the first three innings, but the balanced Trojans scored seven runs in the fourth and fifth inning on eight hits. Tunstall, which hits .389 as a team, finished with 12 hits.

“That was the best team we’ve played all season,” said Mantiply, who plays on a travel baseball team in the summer. “Don’t taking anything from [Tazewell], but I was on today and when we hit the ball we usually get the win. We were down early, but the game is never over.”

Peery told his players to focus on the big picture in an emotional post game meeting.

“I was just telling the kids about a song I heard that says sometimes I’m feel like I’m on top of the world and sometimes the world is on top of me,” Peery said. “That applies to us.
We’ve been on top of the world this season, and now the world is on top of us. But the world turns, and we’ll be back on top soon.”

“Sometimes in games like this, a pitcher will get too pumped up and burnt out to quick,” Peery said. “If you run out of steam, a good team will make you pay for it.”

Longtime Tunstall coach Barry Shelton was impressed with Tazewell, which played flawless defense.

”That team can hit, they showed why they are the Southwest District champions,” said Shelton, who has coached at Tunstall for 26 years. “My pitcher usually don’t get hit like that, but I’m proud of how he battled.”

Shelton has coached pitchers such as Will Inman and Jacob Thompson, who are now working their way through the minor leagues. Inman, now pitching at the Triple AAA level, is one of the top prospects for the San Diego Padres.

“We’ve been fortunate to have great pitchers, and Joe ranks right up with them,” Shelton said.