varsity.roanoke.com

JOHN W. ADKISSON l The Roanoke Times

Dylan Kidd (left) and his Hidden Valley teammates watch their team bat during the bottom of the seventh inning of the Titans' Region IV semifinals against Richlands at Kiwanis Field. The Blue Tornadoes won 3-0 to advance to the regional finals and Group AA state tournament.

varsity.roanoke.com

Timesland on Twitter

• twitter.com/timesland for the latest news and updates from across Timesland

When Ethain Keene was growing up, his father had him figured for a baseball player.

From the start, the father wanted to make sure young Ethain had the proper tools for the job.

"I was born right-hander but my dad, he made me do everything left-handed," Keene said.

Keene learned plenty from the port side but he never learned to swing the bat from that direction. No problem. He learned to throw. That skill he learned well.

Now a senior for the Richlands High team, Keene has been using his left arm to maximum advantage. Pitching his third complete game in seven days, Keene limited Hidden Valley to three hits in a 3-0 shutout in the semifinals of the Region IV tournament at Kiwanis Field Friday afternoon.

That finished off Hidden Valley (19-5) for the year and will send the Blue Tornadoes (15-8) to next week's state tournament. Richlands first plays Tunstall for the regional title.

"The pitcher kept us off balance the whole time," Titans coach Jason Taylor said. "We hit the ball hard at times, but still had nothing to show for it."

Hidden Valley's last best chance came in the sixth, when it loaded the bases with no outs. Cleanup hitter Eric Vess then grounded into a 1-2-3 double play.

"[Assistant] Coach Matt Simmons had come out to talk to me and told me if they hit it back to me, to throw it home," Keene said. "That's exactly what they did."

The Blue Tornadoes made newsreel defensive plays all day.

"They played defense out of their minds today," Taylor said. "We have the best hitter on the team up and he hits a ground ball to the pitcher. It's one of those things that happens, and it killed one of those rallies."

Then with runners at second and third, Hidden Valley's Nick Ferguson, who'd come in relief of starter Thomas Kuhlman in the fifth, lofted a fly ball out to left to end the threat.

"That was big," Richlands shortstop Bradley Strong said. "Bases loaded, no outs. You don't expect to get out of that with no runs allowed."

Jamie Gills, Clark Irvine, and Logan Blankenbeckler went down in order in the seventh.

Hidden Valley was behind early. Tornado leadoff man Bradley Strong, a shortstop and the sophomore son of Coach Brad Strong, led off the game with a triple then scored on a sacrifice fly by his brother Reece Strong, a freshman.

"I put some good wood on it and just kept on trucking," Bradley Strong said.

Strong ended up having a relatively quiet day with the bat. He went 1-for-4.

"He's hit the ball for us all year," the coach said. "He was hitting .600 most of the year. He's hitting .581 now."

Keene reached on a walk in the second and scored on an Erik Hess groudout. Joel Elswick delivered the third run in the fifth on Richlands' second sacrifice fly of the game.

Bradley Strong isn't a large young man, but he made a number of big plays against Hidden Valley.

He closed out the day by securing two of the last three outs, the first ranging far to his right and into the generous foul territory almost up against the fence to catch a fly ball.

Blankenbeckler hit a line drive to the hole between short and third and Strong left his feet completely and stabbed the ball for the last out while stretched horizontally.

Taylor Sizemore in center showed range and speed on a couple of fine plays in the outfield.

"I see these guys in practice every day," Keene said. "I don't expect anything less than the best out of them because I know that's what they're capable of."

What Keene was capable of was a complete-game victory over Abingdon May 21, a complete game victory over Bassett in the opening round of the region Tuesday, then the gem against Hidden Valley three days later.

"I tried not to throw too many breaking balls today," he said. "My arm feels great. But I can't wait to get some ice on it."

Tunstall Left-hander Joe Mantiply scattered nine hits, struck out 16, and walked one as the Trojans stopped Tazewell 8-4 in the second game.

The Bulldogs had a 3-1 lead before Tunstall rallied to tie it in the fourth and broke it open with a five-run fifth. Mantiply, a Virginia Tech signee, also went 1-for-2 with two RBI. Logan Van Asch drove in three runs.

Tunstall and Richlands play 3 p.m. today at Kiwanis for the regional championship.

Richlands 110 010 0 -- 3 7 1

Hidden Valley 000 000 0 -- 0 3 2

Keene and Elswick. Kuhlman, Ferguson (5) and Vess. W -- Keene. L -- Kuhlman.