TORONTO — Good teams bounce back after a loss.

The Toronto baseball team lost its second game of the season Wednesday, however, Toronto bounced back in a big way Thursday against River. The Red Knights scored eight runs in the final three innings, including five in the bottom of the sixth, en route to a 10-0 victory in six innings against the Pilots at the Knight Baseball Complex.

“We had a big talk after last night’s game and another before the game today, and the kids were up to the challenge,” Toronto (8-2) head coach Brian Perkins said. “They played well. We had some very good at-bats against a good River team.”

The hosts led just 2-0 going into the fourth, but they plated a pair of runs to gain some breathing room before tacking on another run in the fifth.

“We started out all right, but we couldn’t make the plays when we needed to,” River (4-5) head coach Tim Blue said. “We made some errors. We didn’t do a good with our fundamentals. We couldn’t get a bunt down when we needed it.

“Coach Perkins is one of the best around. He is a hall of famer. He does a great job with his kids. They are fundamentally sound, and they are well coached.”

Aiden Filby picked up the win for Toronto. Filby struck out six without walking a batter. He limited River to just two singles.

“Aiden has thrown his butt off for us this season,” Perkins said. “He has done a really good job of pounding the zone. He mixes up his pitches. He is a senior, and he is really poised on the mound.”

The Pilots used two pitchers in the game. Trey Larrick started and took the loss. Larrick did not record a strikeout while walking four. Cooper Roberts, who started the game as the team’s DH, came on to pitch with two outs in the fifth. Roberts pitched the final 1 2/3 innings of the game. He struck out one and walked two.

The Knights tallied 11 hits in the win — two of which went for extra bases. Individually, Lucas Wiseman contributed two singles, a triple and three RBI, Michael Henry tallied two singles and an RBI and Russ Dickinson delivered a double and an RBI. Also, Drake Bouscher, Tanner Newbold and Filby all finished with a single and an RBI, and Cole Barcus collected a base hit.

Easton Huntsman and Larrick both recorded singles for the boys from Monroe County.

The Knights tallied two runs in the first to take an early 2-0 lead.

Bouscher walked with one out, and the speedster promptly stole second and third. Dickinson drew a walk and stole second to put two runners in scoring position. Heckathorn then scored Bouscher with a sacrifice fly to center to give the victors a 1-0 lead, and Henry singled home Dickinson to make it 2-0.

Toronto did not score in the second or third innings.

“That’s baseball,” Perkins said. “We barreled some up, and they made the plays. That’s baseball. Eventually, those are going to fall, and they did in the later innings.”

Toronto extended its advantage to 4-0 by plating two runs in the fourth.

Tanner Newbold walked with one out, and Wiseman followed with a single. The first baseman stole second and Gunnar Newbold drew another walk to load the bases. Filby then singled home Tanner Newbold to increase the Red Knights’ advantage to 3-0 before Wiseman scored when Bouscher reached on an error. Toronto appeared to score another run as Dickinson brought home Gunnar Newbold on a fielder’s choice making the score 5-0, however, following an appeal, the run was taken off the scoreboard and Bouscher and Dickinson were called out on the play due to interference.

Undeterred, Toronto came right back with another run in the fifth.

Barcus singled with two outs, and the shortstop stole second. After Tanner Newbold reached on an error, Wiseman singled home Barcus to make the score 5-0. Gunnar Newbold drew a walk to load the bases, but Roberts was able to get a strikeout to end the threat and the inning.

The boys in the red jerseys brought the game to an end in the sixth as they scored five runs with only one out recorded in the inning.

Bouscher walked, stole second and scored on a double by Dickinson to make it a 6-0 ballgame. Dickinson ended up moving to third on a wild pitch, and he scored on another one as Heckathorn took first on a walk. Henry then singled, and Barcus laid down a bunt. Tanner Newbold then singled home Henry to give Toronto an 8-0 lead before Wiseman tripled to left scoring Henry and Tanner Newbold to end the game.

“I have coached against Coach Perkins a lot, and I have only beaten him one time,” Blue said. “Brian does a heck of a job. He has helped me. We try, but we are not at their level. We try.”

There is a lot of respect between the two coaches and programs.

“Coach Blue is a really good guy,” Perkins said. “he always has a quality team. I have a lot of respect for him. He is a nice guy. It’s always a good game whenever we play.”

The game was Toronto’s final one before the cutoff to qualify for the annual OVAC Tournament. The top four teams in each class qualify for the tourney. The latest standings has Toronto in third place in Class 2A, while River is fourth. Caldwell is the top ranked team in the rankings, and the Redskins are followed in the standings by East Palestine.

Today is the cutoff day for teams to qualify for the annual conference tournament. The tournament is set to start Monday with the top two seeds playing at home. The tournament finals are scheduled for Friday and April 26 out at the Edison Unified Sports Complex.

The Pilots are scheduled to play a pair of games today. first, River will play Magnolia on the road at noon before taking on frontier at 4 p.m. at home.

Toronto is slated to play Clay-Battelle in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Saturday at home.

Toronto 10, River 0

River 000 000 – 0 2 2

Toronto 200 215 – 10 11 1

RIVER (4-5): Larrick LP (4 2/3IP, 0K, 4BB), Roberts (1 2/3IP, 1K, 2BB) and Rothenbulher. Huntsman S; Larrick S.

TORONTO (8-2): Filby WP (6K, 0BB) and Henry. Filby S, RBI; Bouscher S, RBI; Dickinson D, RBI; Heckathorn RBI; Henry 2S, RBI; Barcus S; T. Newbold S, RBI; Wiseman 2S, T, 3RBI; G. Newbold S.