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Courtesy of Chillicothe Gazette Staff 7:13 p.m. EDT May 14, 2016

FRANKFORT - Weather played a factor in the start time of the game, but it played no factor in the outcome.

Adena started off sluggish, but quickly shook it off and exploded for seven runs in the third inning on the way to a 12-1 victory in five innings over the North Adams Devils in a Division III Sectional Final on Saturday afternoon.

“It was a sloppy day as far as the weather goes,” Adena coach Tom Barr said. “Our guys put in about two hours’ worth of work before we even started to get ready for the game, but I thought they were able to refocus and play very well. J.D (Blevins) did a good job; Gunnar Free was huge for us. The guys that we expect to step up for us stepped up and our seniors wanted this win since it’s the last time playing at home, and they took care of business.”

J.D. Blevins was masterful on the mound, throwing the complete game, giving up just four hits, walking one batter and sitting down 10 Devil batters. Although he was just 0 for 1 at the dish, he did reach base twice and scored on each trip.

“He was really good on the mound,” Barr said. “We’ve continued to harp on J.D. all season about pitching more efficient and throwing more strikes. We feel like our defense is very solid and we continue to work on getting his pitch count lower. He’s gotten better all year long. He came out and didn’t start the way we wanted him to, but he withstood the weather, rebounded and got more efficient as the game went along.”

The Warriors struck first in the opening inning. Leadoff hitter Collin Cory drew a walk, which was follow by Gunnar Free hitting a single, advancing Cory to third base. Jonathan Thomas hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Cory and giving Adena (18-7) a 1-0 lead.

Following a base hit by Cole Meade, the next three batters for North Adams struck out, but not before Meade scored the only Devil run of the day on a passed ball to tie the score at 1.

For that point on, it was all Adena.

North Adams committed two critical fielding errors, allowing Adena to put runners on base and in position to make the Devils pay. After Hayden Henness was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Cory stepped to the plate and ripped a 2-run double to regain the lead for Adena at 3-1. The next Warrior batter laid down a bunt and a bad throw to the catcher resulted in two more runners crossing the plate before a ground ball ended the inning.

“We haven’t bunted a lot this year,” Barr said. “We’ve worked on it since January and although we’re starting to bunt a little more, I was a little frustrated that we didn’t get a couple more bunts down that we wanted to, but we were very efficient with our small ball game and that’s something we’ll continue to work on.”

After North Adams left a runner on base to end the top half of the third, Adena put the game on ice. Following back-to-back walks by Jake Dawson and Blevins, Tommy Preston launched a double down the left field line, scoring Dawson and extending the lead to 6-1. Another fielding error by the Devils resulted in two more Adena runners crossing home plate, making the score 8-1.

Despite a pitching change, Adena refused to let off the gas. Thomas belted a double to right center field, scoring Bo Dratwa and Henness and pushing the score to 10-1. An RBI groundout by Braden Wilburn made the score 11-1, and while Dawson was caught in a rundown, Thomas crossed the plate, rounding out what would be the final score.

Free led the Warriors, going 3 for 3 at the plate with three singles, a run scored and an RBI. Cory went 1 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs scored, Thomas was 1 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored while Preston also went 1 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Adena marches ahead to district tournament action Wednesday at VA Memorial Stadium, where they’ll square up with the winner between Southeastern and Crooksville.

“We want to win every day,” Barr said. “As long as we take care of business, we’re in good shape. We know a lot about Southeastern, they’ve played us twice and they’re tough. I don’t know anything about Crooksville at this point, but regardless of who we play if we go out and play our game, things will work out for us. It’s good to be a sectional championship, great positive for our seniors and our club, but we’re ready to keep going.”

Published in Varsity
Sunday, 17 April 2016 13:47

Warriors show hand, sweep Aces 4/16/2016

, Reporter9:11 p.m. EDT April 16, 2016

CHILLICOTHE - After starting the season 2-2, the defending Scioto Valley Conference champions have seemingly righted the ship for good.

The Adena Warriors (8-2, 5-1 SVC) swept a twin bill at the expense of the Amanda-Clearcreek Aces in a Saturday doubleheader at VA Memorial Stadium. The 7-1 and 10-0 wins extended the Warriors' current win streak to six games.

"Our players were not happy with their performance the last time we lost," Adena coach Tom Barr said.  "We understand that we didn't come out of the gate the way we need to to accomplish what we want to accomplish. This team is a close-knit group, but very competitive, so they challenge each other every day."

While the offense experienced an early-season slump, Adena's pitching has been right on par. That was once again the case Saturday as Gunnar Free and Jake Dawson combined to throw 13 innings of one-run baseball.

"Coach Chad Carroll, our pitching coach, has done a great job with this group. We've been very diligent about making certain that pitchers are getting their work in to be comfortable on the bump," Barr said. "Jake Dawson threw good in scrimmages, but hasn't pitched since. Today, Jake's first outing of the year, he comes out confident and understands that he needs to work ahead in the count, pitch to contact and let our defense do their jobs. Gunnar did the same thing, kept walks down, worked ahead of the hitters and made the hitters hit his pitches. The defense has been very solid overall, but should improve as the season continues."

In the first game, Free took the ball and got seven runs of support.

The Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning when leadoff hitter Collin Cory scored on an RBI groundout from Free, who was helping his own cause. The edge then grew to 3-0 in the fourth when Braden Wilburn scored on a JD Blevins RBI double before Blevins himself crossed home plate on a passed ball.

Amanda-Clearcreek's lone run came in the bottom of the fourth and wasn't charged to Free's ledger as the Aces scored on an error. The Warriors added one more in the sixth when Blevins knocked in Jonathan Thomas with an RBI single, making it 4-1. In the seventh, Adena scored three more for insurance purposes with an additional RBI being credited to Blevins, who finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored.

"Our guys are doing a much better job with pitch selection and understanding when we are in a position to wait on the pitch we want instead of just swinging the bat," Barr said. "We've dedicated more practice time to hitting and it's also very true that hitting is contagious."

Barr's theory was absolutely correct, as Adena put on an offensive clinic in the matinee contest.

The Warriors scored one in the first, four in the second, four in the fifth, and one in the sixth to seal the envelope on a 10-0 final.

Free (2-0) allowed just five hits and struck out three in the first victory while Dawson (1-0) allowed two hits, walked a pair, and fanned eight.

Aside from Blevins' performance in the first contest, Cory was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs while Thomas and Braden Wilburn each finished 2-for-3 with a run. In the second game, Cory was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs while Dawson went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Adena will try and win its seventh straight ballgame Monday night when the Warriors host the Piketon Redstreaks.

dwebb@chillicothegazette.com

Twitter: @dw1509

Published in Adena Baseball
Sunday, 17 April 2016 13:44

10 to Comprehend: Doubling Down 4/16/2016

, 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)

Published in Baseball Ops

Adena 5, Zane Trace 3

The Warriors won on the road Thursday over the host Pioneers.

Adena was led by Collin Cory who got the win only allowing four hits and three runs but recorded nine strikeouts and went 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored. Gunnar Free and Bo Dratwa both went 2-for-3 with an RBI each while Dratwa also had a run scored. Jonathan Thomas went 1-for-4 with an RBI alongside Tommy Preston, Jake Dawson and Hayden Henness who all were 1-for-3 with a run scored; Henness added two walks and a stolen base as well for the Warriors.

Pioneers’ Trey Davis (1-2) got the loss while teammate Pierce Mowery went 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Clinton-Massie 7, Chillicothe 1

The Cavaliers lost in an away contest at Clinton-Massie on Thursday. Clinton-Massie had 10 hits to Chillicothe’s two hits.

Chillicothe’s Nick Haller pitched four innings allowing seven hits and five runs while taking the loss, he was relieved by Jason Benson who pitched the last two innings allowing three hits and two runs. Josh Nihiser went 1-for-2 with an RBI.

Clinton-Massie’s Noah Greathouse pitched the complete game recording 10 strikeouts while allowing only two hits and a run; Greathouse also went 3-for-3 with an RBI. Max Murray went 1-for-2 with three RBIs and a run scored, Zack Dillow went 1-for-1 with an RBI and Dana Eickenhorst went 2-for-2 with a run scored.

Southeastern 12, Piketon 1

The Panthers won on the road Thursday over the host Redstreaks.

Southeastern’s Rex Hartman (2-0) got the win while allowing six hits. Owen Diehl went 3-for-4 with three RBIs alongside Hunter Hopkins who went 2-for-4. Dalton Chaffin went 2-for-2 at the plate followed by Carson Stauffer going 2-for-5.

Piketon’s Riley Harris (0-2) got the loss allowing 13 hits and striking out five. Shane Vulgamore went 2-for-2 while Ethan Crabtree went 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Westfall 9, Huntington 5

The Mustangs won on the road Thursday over the host Huntsmen. Westfall had nine hits to Huntington’s six hits.

Westfall’s Kyle Greiner pitched the complete game and was awarded the win while striking out seven batters. Austin Nunemaker went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, Tyler Armentrout was 1-for-3 with a RBI and two runs scored followed by Corbin Ferrell and Corey Wyman who both went 1-for-2 with an RBI each; Wyman added a run scored as well.

Huntington’s Merf Conley struck out five but got the loss; Conley also got an RBI. Elijah McCloskey went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored while Brian Smith and Jacob Pugh both went 1-for-4 with an RBI apiece. Evan Long was 1-for-2 with a run scored also for the Huntsmen.

Published in Varsity
Thursday, 14 April 2016 11:17

Chillicothe Gazette Baseball Roundup 4/13/16

Adena 12, Huntington 3

The Warriors defeated Huntington on the road Wednesday. Adena had 16 hits on the day.

Adena’s Gunnar Free got the win allowing only two hits and three earned runs; Free threw two strikeouts and went 3-for-3 at the plate with a RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. Jonathan Thomas went 3-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored and a walk while JD Blevins went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, a run scored and a walk also. Jake Dawson went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a stolen base alongside Tommy Preston who also went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Collin Cory, Hayden Henness and Bo Dratwa all went 1-for-3 with Cory having three runs scored and was hit by pitch twice while Dratwa had a run scored and a walk. Braden Wilburn went 1-for-4 with a double and two runs scored as well for the Warriors.

Published in Varsity
Thursday, 14 April 2016 11:03

GC Game Highlights Huntington 4/13/16

Adena Warriors Varsity jumps on Huntington (Chillicothe, OH) early and coasts to 12-3 win

Note: This is an automated writeup provided by the scoring app.

Adena Warriors Varsity jumped out to an early lead on Huntington and captured a 12-3 victory on Wednesday at Huntington HS.

The game was decided quickly as Adena Warriors Varsity exerted its will early with seven runs in the first three innings.

An RBI double by Braden Wilburn, a two-run single by JD Blevins, and an RBI single by Jake Dawson during the first inning and an error in the second inning helped Adena Warriors Varsity put some runs on the board early.

Gunnar Free got a hit in each of his three at bats. He singled in the first, second, and fourth innings.

Cody Cottrill looked sharp on the mound. Cottrill held Huntington hitless over three innings, allowed no earned runs, walked two and struck out four.

Free got it done on the rubber on the way to a win. He allowed three runs over three innings. He struck out two, walked four and surrendered two hits.

Adena Warriors Varsity easily handled Huntington pitching as nine hitters combined for 16 hits, eight RBIs and twelve runs scored.

Pugh was the game's losing pitcher. He allowed twelve runs in five innings, walked three and struck out one.

Adena Warriors Varsity increased its lead with two runs in the third. Dawson started the inning with a double, bringing home Wilburn.

Adena Warriors Varsity pushed across one run in both the fourth inning and the sixth. In the fourth, Adena Warriors Varsity scored on an RBI single by Free, plating Collin Cory.

Adena Warriors Varsity piled on three more runs in the top of the fifth. A passed ball scored Tommy Preston for the inning's first run. That was followed up by Jonathon Thomas's single, bringing home Bowen Dratwa.

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Published in Varsity
Tuesday, 05 April 2016 03:02

Cory deals Warriors past Panthers

, Reporter10:41 p.m. EDT April 4, 2016

CHILLICOTHE - The beginning was rusty, the middle was lackluster but the end, well the end was sweet.

But there was one constant bright spot in all of that: Collin Cory.

On the opening night of Scioto Valley Conference play, Cory and his Adena Warriors bested Southeastern by a final of 3-1 in eight innings.

And even with the temperature in the uppers 30s, Cory continue to deliver fireball after fireball from the pitcher's mound.

"Collin's nickname is 'bulldog' and tonight he showed why they call him that," Adena coach Tom Barr said. "He really just kept going at them. We had Jonathan (Thomas) warmed up and ready to go and Collin didn't want to give the ball up. I felt like he got stronger as the game went on tonight."

The senior threw all eight innings, fanning eight batters, allowing four base knocks, and giving up just one earned run. His performance not only gave the Warriors (2-1, 1-0 SVC) a conference-opening victory but it also allowed them to bounce back from a tough outing this past weekend.

"We talked about being able to stick to your guns after the game tonight," Barr said. "This team is used to winning but they don't get excited about many things prematurely. They don't try to make things happen too hard. After a tough loss Saturday, it was nice to come out and bounce back like this while beating a very good Southeastern team. Both of the pitchers (Southeastern) threw at us threw well today. It's huge for us to get back into the win column."

The Panthers (3-3, 0-1 SVC) scored the contest's first run in their very first at-bat.

After Cory retired the first batter he faced, Southeastern's Rex Hartman drew a four-pitch walk and proceeded to steal second base. After Carson Stauffer moved Hartman to third on a groundout to the pitcher, shortstop Owen Diehl drove a 3-2 delivery into the outfield grass to score Hartman and make it 1-0.

But misfortunately for Southeastern, Cory had seen enough of that.

In the second, third, and fourth innings, the Panthers went down in order. Meanwhile, Adena got a leadoff single from Jake Dawson in the top of the third before he swiped second. After advancing to third on a passed ball, Dawson scored on an RBI groundout from Cory, tying the game 1-1.

And that's the way it stayed for what seemed like an eternity; especially with bitter wind chills.

The Panthers had a shot to retake the lead in the bottom of the fifth with catcher Hunter Hopkins standing on second and one out. The Warriors had their shot to grab an edge with right fielder Hayden Henness standing on third and one gone in the top of the inning.

But neither took advantage of the opportunities. Instead, Cory took matters into his own hands in the top of the eighth.

After he singled into right field, Cory advanced to past second and onto third thanks to a Panthers' fielding error. Second baseman Gunnar Free then drew a free pass before Jonathan Thomas hit a line drive into center, deep enough for Cory to tag from third and give the Warriors a 2-1 lead.

Braden Wilburn then followed suit by knocking in Free — who had stolen second base — with an RBI single to make it 3-1.

In the bottom of the eighth, Cory struck out two batters and saw his catcher, Bo Dratwa, pick a runner off at first to seal the deal.

"Braden has been big for us all year and he's one of our leaders," Barr said. "He doesn't strike out much and he moves the ball. We bury him in that four-hole every game and he sees a lot of offspeed stuff. But he battles."

Southeastern's Tanner Popp (1-2) took the loss on the mound, hurling three innings of relief and allowing two earned runs on three hits.

At the dish, Wilburn led the Warriors by going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Cory finished 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI while JD Blevins also went 2-for-3.

For the Panthers, Hunter Hopkins led the way offensively with a 2-for-3 outing. Popp finished 1-for-3 and Diehl was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Adena will return to action Wednesday evening as they host Adena. Southeastern will get back to work Tuesday, traveling to Vinton County.

dwebb@chillicothegazette.com

Twitter: @dw1509

 

Published in Varsity