Throw in the regularly uttered clichés - “Anybody can beat anybody” and “Throw out all the records” - and the Temple-Belton baseball rivalry sounds no different than Yankees-Red Sox.
But it’s the close familiarity of the Bell County rivals - who meet at 7 tonight in a District 12-5A game at Tiger Field - that makes this feud special in its own way.
“It’s a big game because of the relationships these kids have with the other players on the other team,” said first-year Belton coach Eddie Cornblum, who served as an assistant for Temple coach Larry Haynes for four years.
“It’s the relationship I have with Larry. I consider him a friend and I learned a lot from him. The parents’ relationships and the communities - it’s a whole different scenario, a whole different ballgame.”
The emotions stirred up during the game cause the players to perform in unexpected ways. Usually dominant pitching staffs can’t find the strike zone. Struggling bats begin to find the holes and put runs on the scoreboard. Surehanded fielders boot ground balls and the players’ confidence starts to reel.
All those components are why tonight’s game isn’t being treated like just another 12-5A battle.
“I was telling them earlier, ‘This is not just any ordinary game and don’t play it like it’s just another game,’” Cornblum said. “If you go in there thinking it’s just an ordinary game, the atmosphere itself is going to screw you up. You have to play it in my mind like it’s a playoff game - get after it, be excited about it, but don’t let the emotion of the atmosphere take you out of your game.”
Last season, it was Temple that handled the environment and surprised Belton in the first game, ending the Wildcats’ first three-game losing skid since the two schools became district foes again in 2002-03.
The Wildcats (6-13 overall, 2-3 in 12-5A for fifth place) will need a similar performance - unlike when they walked 10 batters, committed three errors and had two passed balls in the first six innings in Tuesday’s 9-5 home loss to Bryan - to beat the first-place Tigers (13-4, 5-0).
“We’ll just keep working on the fundamentals of hitting and fielding and trying to do all the things you’ve got to do to try to win a game,” Haynes said. “I hope that they don’t let the emotions overcome them.”
After scoring just one run in each of its first two district games, Temple has 21 in its last three while moving into the thick of the 12-5A playoff picture.
“We’re playing better and we’re putting the ball in play a little bit more consistently,” Haynes said. “We’re still looking for the timely hit or the big hit, and it’ll come somewhere. It’s going to come. Our hitters, they’re competing and they’re doing the best they can.”
Because ace and Temple College signee Kevin Lock threw a 160-pitch complete game on Tuesday, the Wildcats will need a strong outing from Dillon Mangham (2-2), Isaac Matamoros or Allen Rostovich to have a chance to hand Belton its first district loss.
The Tigers are off to a solid league start thanks to their pitching and defense. Belton has committed seven errors and allowed nine runs in its five district games and has a 1.83 earned-run average this season.
As for tonight’s starter, Cornblum has several options - John Beck (2-1, 1.53 ERA), Justin Rhea (2-0, 2.71), Tyler Vail (1-1, 2.84) and John Nieberding (1-0, 0.00).
Junior shortstop Shane Hoelscher leads the balanced offense, which has scored 50 runs in district, with most of them coming in a 27-2 rout of Copperas Cove.
On paper, all signs point toward Belton winning for the fifth time in six games against Temple. But in a rivalry game more so than any other, anything can indeed happen.
“We have to be excited about playing, but still be even-keel,” Cornblum said. “It’s a different game because of the nature of it, but at the same time you have to be able to go play and not make mistakes."
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
