That’s the case when Knightdale and East Wake baseball teams meet. Individually many of the players are friends, but as a team it couldn’t be further from the truth.

That’s why last Tuesday’s 15-5 Warrior win couldn’t have left a good taste in the mouths of the Knightdale glovers. That’s even more true after the Knights opened with a four-run first inning.

Unfortunate to the visitors, East Wake (7-5) didn’t fall off the map. The home team posted three runs in the same inning to stay alive — much the reason the first inning lasted about an hour.

But Knightdale (3-5) was held scoreless over the next two innings as East Wake dropped six more runs on the scoreboard, and in an untimely fashion.

With two outs in the bottom of the third, Sam Winegar was walked by Knightdale’s Tim Coston before Jonathan Waszak singled to send Winegar to third. Christian Neal’s single paved way for the 8-4 lead, and when Coston turned to catch Neal off-bag at first his baseman, Daniel Batts, wasn’t on the bag either.

Neal advanced to third and Murphy Tyndall, running for Waszak, was sent to third.

Ian Hasbrouck and Jonathan Aparicio were both walked to bring Tyndall in before the Knights closed the inning trailing five runs.

Four more runs fell for the Warriors in the bottom of the fourth — the major twisting of the dagger being Brandon Majoy’s homer over the left center wall.

East Wake had racked-up the lead to 13-4 before the Knights found another run, their last of the game, in the top of the fifth inning when Jonathan Smith doubled to center field and Zack Russell was walked by Warrior pitcher Wes Luck.

The two Knights made it to second and third on a low pitch and Luck loaded the bases in walking Austin Fearrington. Smith was the lone run that made it in after East Wake went on a defensive streak highlighted by a touch-and-toss double play from Aparicio.

In the bottom of five, Luck found first on a high toss from Fearrington to Andrew Vernon at first after a Taylor Griswold ground-out. T.J. Viracola’s flick to second missed its mark and Garrett Johnson and Luck were sound on first and second.

Majoy proceeded to load the bases before Eric Hardin was walked by Russell, now on the mound, to bring in Luck and Tyndall was hit at the plate to bring in Johnson and the game was called.

Warrior coach Kerry Kincaid said it wasn’t rocket-science why the Warriors won — they hit the ball well and usually contend when that’s the case.

Knightdale head coach Andrew Vaglio said his team is young, but are a bunch of hard workers despite the loss.

“Time and hard work will make up for where we are lacking mentally,” Vaglio said after the game as the Knights promptly took to wind sprints.