Robert Anderson

Photos by KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Cave Spring's Luke Feldenzer (8) gets congratulations from teammates including Mark Overstreet (23) after hitting a home run.

Cave Spring catcher Nathan Wimmer waits for a throw as Bassett's Nicolas Keister scores during the Region IV semifinal on Wednesday at Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Rocky Mount.

ROCKY MOUNT -- Cave Spring's baseball team has such a potent hitting attack that there is no omen whatsoever in the fact that the first three hitters in the Knights' order have last names that begin with 'K.'

Cave Spring's bats struck again Wednesday and not out.

Shortstop Luke Feldenzer hit for the cycle and Bryan Kluge led off the game with one of Cave Spring's three home runs as the Knights qualified for the Group AA tournament with a 12-6 victory over Bassett in a Region IV semifinal at Benjamin Franklin Middle School.

Feldenzer achieved the rare feat with a single in the first inning, a solo home run in the third, a triple in the fifth and a double in the sixth.

The double appeared to be a routine grounder to second base, but the ball took a wicked hop over Bassett's Ben Moore and Feldenzer sprinted to the bag.

"That was luck," Feldenzer said.

The Cave Spring star said the cycle was barely on his mind.

"Not much. I told a couple of people if I hit it in the gap I was going to go for a [triple]," Feldenzer said.

Feldenzer did not apologize for the bad hop. Stopping at second base on an obvious triple?

"Now that's cheap," he said.

Cave Spring (15-9) jumped on Bassett starter Roy Morgan for six runs in the first inning as the bottom five men in the order all had hits.

Kluge's home run -- his third leadoff shot this year -- set the tone.

"I knew what I had to do," Morgan said. "I didn't have my good stuff today. I felt pretty good, and then the first pitch I left up and it went a long ways."

Kluge had two hits and three RBIs for Cave Spring, while No. 9 hitter Jordan Bryant had two hits and two RBIs and No. 8 man Zach Utterback added two hits. Eight of the Knights' 13 hits went for extra bases.

"We knew coming in they were going to hit the ball," Bassett coach Bill Parks said. "We were well aware of what they were capable of doing offensively."

Parks also knew Cave Spring had blown an 18-0 lead before edging Abingdon 27-26 in a regular-season game. The 6-0 first-inning deficit wasn't insurmountable.

Bassett (8-14-2) got rolling in the third with three runs against Cave Spring starter Steve Klaiber, who pitched a complete game despite giving up 14 hits and added a homer at the plate.

The Bengals cut the gap to 8-4 in the fourth when Patrick Martin drilled a one-out double. Martin tried to stretch it into a triple, but the runner ahead of him -- Bryan McAlexander -- stopped, and Martin was nailed for the second out.

Bassett shortened the fifth on the bases when Cole Campbell was thrown out by Knights center fielder Reece Kingery trying to stretch a single into a double.

Bassett finished with 14 hits as McAlexander, Martin and Morgan had three apiece.

"Earlier in the year we would have folded," Parks said. "We kicked, scratched and clawed. It wasn't because of lack of aggressiveness."

Cave Spring catcher Nathan Wimmer made a big defensive play to end the fourth, diving in front of the Knights' dugout to snag a popup.

So how did that brick dust taste?

"It tasted good," Wimmer said. "We needed that to get out of a big inning, because they were starting to get people on. We needed a play and luckily I made it."

Cave Spring awaits the winner of today's semifinal between Tazewell and Tunstall in the regional final Friday.

"We just keep trucking along," Feldenzer said. "We always keep putting the hurt on. We just keep hitting the ball."

Klaiber and Wimmer. Morgan, Hardy (6) and Hylton. W--Klaiber (3-1). L--Morgan (2-4). HR--Kluge (CS) 1st, none on; Feldenzer (CS) 3rd, none on; Klaiber (CS) 4th, none on.