Derrick Webb, Reporter8:20 p.m. EDT April 16, 2016
In Major League Baseball history, Cal Ripken Jr. holds the record for most double plays grounded into, with 350.
After retiring as the one of the best shortstops ever — Ripken is in Cooperstown forever enshrined in the Hall of Fame with a career .276 batting average — his position always served as a double-edged sword. Why? Well, when he wasn't turning double plays, he was grounding into them.
The key to his success was tallying more hits with runners on base than routine ground balls to the shortstop. And even with his record number of groundouts, he's still considered one of the best to ever play the game.
This week's "10 to Comprehend" features some of the area's best middle infielders, who are experiencing some of the same dilemmas Ripken went through.
• If you're not convinced Zane Trace's Pierce Mowery is the best pure athlete in the entire area, well, here's more proof. During his first year playing varsity baseball — his senior year I might add — Mowery has shined. In fact, the Pioneers' shortstop leads the team in hitting with 22 hits in 42 at-bats; a .524 average. That's simply ridiculous when you consider the fact Mowery had never faced a varsity pitcher before this year. To go along with those numbers, he's scored a team-high 21 runs, owns a team-high .592 on-base percentage and has struck out a grand total of one time. The young man isn't human.
• After suffering an early-season injury, Adena's Gunnar Free has bounced back rather nicely. Free, who spends most of his time at second base, had led the charge in a five-game winning streak after his Warriors started out 2-2. Going 11-for-22 in his first stint of at-bats, Free is a dangerous hitter in one of the area's most dangerous lineups. Altogether, Free owns five RBIS and six runs, numbers that have habitually climbed.
• Southeastern's Own Diehl is as smooth as they come at his shortstop position. They say you play your best defensive player between second and third base. That's certainly no myth when it comes to coach John Evans' strategy of starting Diehl there for the past four years. Diehl's latest antics have included going 4-for-8 with a double and five RBIs in his last two contests; a 12-1 win over Piketon and a 12-4 win over Unioto. The Panthers reached a Division III district final contest one year ago. Do not be surprised if that happens again, as it's players like Diehl who lead the team.
• A promising start for Chillicothe's softball team has taken a detour lately after the Cavaliers dropped their past two contests; 11-0 and 10-2. However, there has been a bright, reassuring light in those two losses; the play of shortstop Audrey Corzine. As a freshman, Corzine put herself on the area's stat leaderboards. A slow start has prevented her from being there this year, so far, but she looks as if she's settling in at the dish. In her last four games, she's 5-for-10 with two runs, three RBIs, and a stolen base. I'm sure the Cavaliers would love for her to keep that kind of production going.
• Yes, I know Paint Valley's offense hasn't been exactly a well-oiled machine this season, as the team average is a sub-par .258 (77-for-298). However, the Bearcats have still won eight of 12 games and that's all that matters, wins and losses. When they have been able to manufacture runs, shortstop Madison Smith has usually been involved. Smith notched both RBIs in a 2-0 win over Adena on Friday and played superb defense in a 2-1 win over Westfall on Wednesday, PV's biggest win yet this season. The senior is hitting .286 with four runs, six RBIs and four swiped bags in 11 games.
• If you haven't heard, Unioto's softball team is still undefeated in the Scioto Valley Conference. A big reason for that is the Shermans' superiority in the pitching circlem but don't discount the defensive play. When the ball is hit to shortstop Jordyn Pierce, you can probably go ahead and mark down an out in your scorebook. At the plate, Pierce hasn't been too shabby, either. The senior leader is 11-for-25 (.440) with two dingers, a double, seven RBIs and five runs in her last seven games.
Performance of the Week: Hands down, this week's POW goes to Zane Trace's Katie Unger, who is, fittingly, a shortstop. In a 10-6 win over Adena this past week, Unger was 4-for-4 with two long balls, three runs, and — count 'em — five RBIs. Just for fun, Unger's next contest — a 12-7 win over Huntington — featured the senior going 3-for-4 with a home run, triple, three runs, and — count 'em — five more RBIs.
Fact that probably interests only me: I'm sure most of you have seen me write about Chillicothe's center fielder Tori Bettendorf; an outstanding student-athlete. But did you know that her father Dave was quite a ballplayer himself? The older Bettendorf graduated from Kent State University, where he's now enshrined in the school's Hall of Fame. As a Golden Flash, Bettendorf hit .353 in three seasons with 33 home runs, 142 RBIs, 140 runs scored and 41 doubles. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 20th round of the 1987 MLB June Amateur Draft before spending four seasons in the minor leagues.
SVC Player of the Year Races: For softball, Unioto's Brooke Blevins and Paint Valley's Mikayla Newland have to be a 1-2 punch still. Honestly, there's nobody even close to the two just because of the position they play. I can see either being named POY. In terms of baseball, it's kind of a crap shoot at this point. No one team wants to jump out to a conference lead and hold it. Having said that, I'll throw out four names in no particular order: Southeastern's Tanner Popp, Zane Trace's Trey Davis, Paint Valley's Anthony McFadden, and Adena's Collin Cory.
dwebb@chillicothegazette.com
Twitter: @dw1509
Power Rankings:
Baseball: Adena (7-2), Zane Trace (10-4), Unioto (8-4), Paint Valley (11-3), Southeastern (7-5), Westfall (3-10), Huntington (6-6), Chillicothe (3-8), Piketon (3-8)
Softball: Unioto (11-2), Paint Valley (8-4), Chillicothe (7-3), Zane Trace (7-3), Westfall (7-4), Southeastern (3-8), Piketon (5-5), Adena (3-9), Huntington (2-9)
