It was barely a month ago that Riley Phillips was just coming out of surgery to have two pins inserted into his broken left (non-throwing) thumb. Monday evening, Lookout Valley's senior right-hander was on the mound and proved just how gutsy he is by pitching five innings in an 8-6 Region 2-A semifinal win over visiting Coalfield.
The win advances the Yellow Jackets to the region championship game for the first time in eight years. They are scheduled to host Arts & Sciences on Wednesday.
"If we have a game that matters, we want Riley on the mound because of the type competitor he is," Lookout Valley coach Lance Rorex said. "He showed why today because, even though he didn't have his best stuff out there, he battled all game and put us in a position to keep playing. That's all that matters to me."
Lookout Valley scored four runs in each of the first two innings in taking a commanding 8-2 lead before having to hold off a late rally. The Jackets, who finished 13-17 last year but are 25-8 this season, collected just five hits and committed five errors but built enough of an early cushion to advance at least to a state sectional.
"It helped me a lot to get those early runs," said Phillips, who is now 8-0 this season. "That gave me a lot of confidence and I was able to just throw and not worry too much.
"My hand kills me in practice, whenever I have to make a catch, but on game days I don't notice it. I don't think about anything except trying to help my team win. This is my senior year, so for us to still be playing and have a shot at getting to the state tournament is just unbelievable."
Regardless of who wins the region title game, both will advance to Friday's sectional round. The region champion will host, while the second-place team must travel.
Gavin Slaven, Truston Everett and Cole Janeway each drove in two runs for Lookout Valley, and Janeway also pitched the last two innings to earn the save.
"We're an older team now, more mature, and we have high energy practices every day, which is where it all starts," Rorex said. "That's kind of the way we played in those first two innings, with a lot of energy. Maybe we got a little too loose, because we couldn't do much at the plate after that.
"We've got some really good leaders, and the kids just keep finding ways to get the job done."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.