Derrick Webb, Reporter10 p.m. EDT April 29, 2016
FRANKFORT - Sophomore JD Blevins still is undefeated, still has an ERA below 2.00 and still keeps his calm in pressure situations.
The young southpaw guided Adena back on track after uncharacteristic back-to-back losses this week in a 5-1 win against Huntington on Friday night at Adena High School.
En route to the win, Blevins (5-0) went all seven innings while throwing a total of 113 pitches — 75 for strikes. He struck out 12 and walked three.
"We've been stretching JD out all season long, and he's a kid that we feel comfortable with right now," Adena coach Tom Barr said. "We're blessed with pitching on this team. We'll have about four or five guys that are now ready to go Monday since we don't play over the next few days. JD did get into some trouble tonight, but he kept control just like we expect him to."
Facing Blevins in the duel was Huntington's Merfel Conley, a right hander who has been decent all year long. Conley (2-5) also was impressive, throwing six innings and allowing just one earned run. The senior fanned three and allowed just one free pass in the loss.
"Merfel has good velocity, and over our past two games, we've seen a couple of slow lefties," Barr said. "We knew that we were going to get Huntington's best tonight, but that's what we want. We like that. I think, other than Paint Valley, we've had everybody's best. For us, we're still interested in playing late in May. That's where our mentality and goals lie."
The Warriors (14-5, 10-2 Scioto Valley Conference) scored out of the gate. Leadoff hitter Collin Cory drew a walk in the first inning and would cross home plate on an RBI single into left field from Braden Wilburn.
Thanks to three runs in the fourth, Adena then was able to enjoy a little breathing room.
Senior Cy Carroll singled to start the inning before moving to second on a second straight single, this time from Collin Cory. With two outs in the inning and Wilburn at the plate, Huntington (8-12, 1-11 SVC) committed a costly fielding error that allowed both Carroll and Cory to score. Blevins then laced a ball into deep right-center field to plate Carroll and make it a 4-0 ballgame.
The Huntsmen finally broke through in the top of the sixth when Devon Byrd knocked in Elijah McCloskey on an opposite field RBI single to make it 4-1. But the Warriors took a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the inning — on an RBI single from Bo Dratwa — and eventually the win.
"We have to make sure we shape up at the plate, but I'm happy with how we swung the bats, for the most part, tonight," Barr said. "We hit a couple of hard balls that were just right at (Huntington)."
Blevins and Wilburn both went 1-for-3 at the plate with a run and RBI each. Dratwa finished 1-for-3 with an RBI and stolen base as Collin Cory went 1-for-2 with two runs. Cy Carroll, playing on his Senior Night, also was 1-for-3 with a run.
For the Huntsmen, Byrd was 1-for-2 with the RBI while Jacob Pugh, Conley, and Travis Atwood all went 1-for-3. McCloskey was 0-for-3 but did a score a run and steal a bag.
The Warriors will travel to Paint Valley on Monday while Huntington is in action the same day against Zane Trace at home.
dwebb@chillicothegazette.com
Twitter: @dw1509
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