varsity.roanoke.com

Pitchers Dylan Kidd and Nick Ferguson certainly hadn't forgotten Hidden Valley's nightmarish loss to Abingdon in last year's Region IV title game.

It took them 363 days to get even, but payback was glorious Thursday.

Fueled by a combined three-hitter by Kidd and Ferguson, Hidden Valley erased a load of bad memories from last year's loss with a clinic-like 5-1 schooling of the Falcons in the region quarterfinals at William Byrd.

"Yeah, we blew a six-run lead in that game, then we tied it in the seventh and I was on the mound for the eighth and ninth," said Kidd, referring to the Titans' shocking 11-10 loss to huge underdog Abingdon a year ago. "I gave up the home run [by Abingdon's Preston Pionk] that cost us the game, and it kinda put a sour taste in my mouth for the whole offseason.

"So I would say we got a little redemption today."

Hidden Valley, the only one of four Timesland teams to survive the region quarterfinals, advanced to today's semifinals at Salem's Kiwanis Field. The Titans (18-4) will face Richlands at 4 p.m., with Tunstall and Tazewell matching up in the 7 o'clock nightcap.

Thanks to a Herculean-like effort by a makeshift Byrd grounds crew consisting of members of the Terriers' baseball squad, fans and school officials, Thursday's game was able to be played following a deluge of rain about two hours before the scheduled 5 p.m. start. The contest had been postponed the previous two days.

When it finally came down to play ball 49 hours, 15 minutes later, the Titans were ready. While they fell behind briefly after Abingdon standout Matthew Hagy drilled a 2-2 offering from Kidd some 385 feet for a solo homer in the top of the first, the Titans came out swinging in their half of the frame. Designated hitter Thomas Kulman's two-run single -- a line shot that caromed off the glove of leaping Falcons second baseman Luke Hitt -- gave Hidden Valley a one-run lead it would never relinquish.

"Oh, it feels good," Kuhlman said. "The whole time, we just wanted to get back at [Abingdon] and get a chance to advance to the state.

"Man, I was tired of waiting and keep getting the game postponed. I'm superstitious, so I wore the same thing to school for three days in a row. And I was getting tired of that, I needed to wash the stuff."

Hidden Valley, which touched up loser Zach Witt for nine hits, got a run in the second to make it 3-1, then put the contest on ice with two runs in the sixth on a long RBI double by pinch-hitter Scott Stilwell and Ian Trampe's infield single that produced the final run.

Kidd shut down the Falcons (19-6) after Hagy's first-inning blast, allowing only two singles the next four innings. Ferguson, a left-hander, finished the deal, not allowing a hit in his two innings of work.

"The offense came out hot, and we were really able to kinda settle in after that," said Kidd, who improved to 7-2. "I hit my spots better and we played good team defense and we had some clutch performances on offense. And Nick did a great job coming in behind me. Really, it was about a textbook game for us."

Abingdon 100 000 0 -- 1 3 1

Hidden Valley 210 002 x -- 5 9 1

Witt and Pope. D. Kidd, Ferguson (6) and Vess. WP -- D. Kidd (7-2). LP -- Witt. HR -- Hagy (A), 1st, none on.