The Temple-Belton baseball rivalry, however, is anything but typical.
In a contest between players who have competed against and with each other since childhood, and in a matchup of coaches who are longtime friends, history has shown that anything is possible.
“There’s something about this rivalry,” Temple coach Larry Haynes said. “Everybody picks up their game, and the intensity level is a little higher. This game usually brings out the best in both teams.”
The Wildcats and Tigers will tangle for the 13th time since becoming district foes in 2003, when they square off at 7 p.m. today at Hallford Field.
Temple (5-10, 0-2 District 13-5A) enters on the heels of two narrow losses to start league play, while Belton (16-1, 2-0) comes in unscored upon during district and as a winner of seven straight.
But Tigers coach David Tidwell warned that none of that will matter tonight.
“It’s the same in every sport, no matter where you are. You want to beat the people you see every day,” said Tidwell, whose 2005 squad had its perfect district mark marred only by Temple. “You want to have bragging rights.
“For our kids, it’s even gone beyond bragging rights. They want to win district, and Temple is the next obstacle. And we know like always, Temple will play well against us.”
The Tigers have won the last three rivalry games - the longest such streak by either team - and the Wildcats will need to boost their offensive production to stem the tide.
Temple mustered just seven hits and didn’t score a run during district losses last week to Bryan and College Station A&M Consolidated.
Tonight, the Wildcats will face Tigers junior right-hander Nick Wright (3-1), who gave up only one hit and didn’t issue a walk in his last outing.
“We’re coming off two tough losses, but we played better defense and we pitched pretty well,” Haynes said. “Right now, we’re trying to improve our hitting because we’ve missed some opportunities.”
Temple will send to the mound senior lefty Michael Lollman (2-2) to face a Belton lineup that produced only three hits the last time it faced a left-hander.
“We were hitting the ball so well early in the year and now it has slowed down some,” Tidwell said. “We’re hoping to pick it back up a little.
“But at this level, the college level or any level, it boils down to pitching, and we’ve had great pitching. We have five pitchers with an ERA under 2.00. When you have that, you’re going to win some games.”
Half of the teams’ previous 12 meetings were decided by one run, so both coaches know that a loss of focus for even one pitch can mean the difference.
“On paper, statistically, we haven’t looked real good in the last few games,” Haynes said. “But our intensity and focus has been there. We just need to come up with the timely hit when we have guys in scoring position.”
As for Belton’s crew, which starts four sophomores, Tidwell is hoping to maintain the status quo.
“Even though our team is relatively young, they know what they’re doing,” he said. “But I haven’t let up on them. I still have my foot on their behind, and I’m still pushing. That’s the only way I know how to do things.
“And these kids just show up and play. Deep down they know what’s going on, but I don’t think they realize they’ve started off with the best record in Belton history. That’s saying something because we’ve had some great teams.”
Notes: With local weather forecasters calling for an 80- to 90-percent chance of rain today, there’s a possibility the game could be postponed until Wednesday. . . . On Thursday, Temple plays at Harker Heights, and Belton hosts Killeen Ellison. If weather plays a factor, in a worst-case scenario, the Temple-Belton game could be moved to Friday.
