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Sunday, 15 May 2016 03:08

Warriors run past Devils, move to Districts

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

Wednesday, 11 May 2016 13:23

2016 All Scioto Valley Conference Selections Announced

Derrick Webb, Reporter12:25 a.m. EDT May 11, 2016

CHILLICOTHE - The Scioto Valley Conference unveiled its 2016 spring all-conference teams Tuesday and both Zane Trace's Pierce Mowery and Unioto's Brooke Blevins walked away with the biggest pieces of hardware.

Mowery was named the 2016 Baseball Player of the Year while Blevins took home 2016 Softball Player of the Year honors. Mowery's Pioneers won the league with a mark of 12-2 and posted an overall record of 20-7. Blevins' Shermans also topped the conference at 12-2 while going 19-7 overall.

During his senior year — the first full season of baseball he's played since eighth grade — Mowery hit like a mad man. In 96 official at-bats, the shortstop collected 49 base knocks, hitting .510. He also scored a league-leading 45 runs and stole 18 bases. When called upon, he also saw success on the mound, throwing nine innings and allowing just one earned run; an ERA of 0.78.

Blevins, also a senior, did her damage in the pitcher's circle and at the plate. In the circle, Blevins was 18-5 with a 1.49 ERA. In 164 innings pitched, she struck out 178 hitters while walking just 13. At the plate, she was 33-for-77 on the year, a .429 average. Going alongside those numbers was a total of 14 runs scored, four stolen bases, and a team-high 27 RBIs.

Blevins' head coach Brad Jadwin was adorned with 2016 SVC Coach of the Year honors as Unioto won its first conference title since 2013.

Joining Mowery with first-team baseball selections was teammate Trey Davis, Paint Valley's Anthony McFadden, Adena's Collin Cory and Braden Wilburn, Unioto's Clay Edler and Ryan Sigler, Westfall's Dustin Kaiser and Southeastern's Tanner Popp.

Davis hit .427 with a league-high 42 RBIs while McFadden posted a 0.82 ERA on the hill, going 6-1 and striking out a league-high 78 batters. Cory hit .444 (36-for-81) as the leadoff spot for the Warriors while Wilburn led Adena with a .452 average (33-for-73). Edler was magnificent on the bump, going 7-1 and giving up just eight earned runs in 47 1/3 innings. Sigler was 4-3 on the hill and struck out 46 batters. Kaiser hit .493 for the Mustangs while collecting 34 hits and scoring 24 runs. Popp hit .377 and went 6-5 on the bump, pitching 65 innings for the Panthers.

Second-team baseball selections are as follows: Teagan McFadden (Sr., Paint Valley); Jeremy Brooks (Jr., Zane Trace); Brian Smith (Jr., Huntington); Casey White (Jr., Unioto); Alex Wolff (Sr., Zane Trace); Riley Harris (Sr., Piketon); Justin Dye (Sr., Southeastern); Owen Diehl (Sr., Southeastern); JD Blevins (So., Adena).

Honorable mention baseball selections are as follows: Hayden Henness and Jonathan Thomas (Adena); Devon Byrd and Merfel Conley (Huntington); Skyler Knisley and Drake Stanforth (Paint Valley); Jacob Chester and Ethan Crabtree (Piketon); Rex Hartman and Carson Stauffer (Southeastern); Ryan Burns and Gavin Ogan (Unioto); Tyler Armentrout and Corbin Ferrell (Westfall); Joel Dunkle and Josh George (Zane Trace).

Joining Blevins with first-team softball selections were teammates Jayla Campbell and Jordyn Pierce, Paint Valley's Mikayla Newland, Westfall's Regan Stonerock and Becca Brown, Southeastern's Lexy Cooper, Zane Trace's Katie Unger, and Huntington's Rikki Magill.

Campbell, a freshman, stole 25 bases, had a league-high 27 hits and scored a league-high 38 runs while Pierce hit .360 with three home runs in the heart of the Shermans' order. Newland was dominant in the circle, going 14-6 and striking out 313 batters with a 0.21 ERA. Cooper hit .371 and stole 26 bases for Southeastern while Unger led the league in round-trippers with five alongside 23 RBIs. Magill hit .391 and scored 19 times.

Second-team softball selections are as follows: Lea McFadden (Fr., Paint Valley); D'Lani Swackhammer (Sr., Zane Trace); Emily Robinson (So, Westfall); Cameryn Alexander (Fr., Piketon); Gracie Smith (So., Piketon); Makayla Carroll (Jr., Southeastern); Summer Sigman (So., Unioto); Carly Carroll (Jr., Adena); Kelsie Robinson (Sr., Westfall).

Honorable mention softball selections are as follows: Brooklyn Detty and Devon Putnam (Adena); Kennedy DeBord and Brookelyn Neighbors (Huntington); Savannah Johnson and Madison Smith (Paint Valley); Faith Pack and Erykah Scott (Piketon); Cindellynn Murta and Audrie Wheeler (Southeastern), Payge Arledge and McKenna Jones (Unioto); Makayla Terry and Holley Webb (Westfall); Morgan Arledge and Taylor Stacy (Zane Trace).

dwebb@chillicothegazette.com

Twitter: @dw1509

Published in Baseball Ops

Sunday, 01 May 2016 16:27

Blevins shines as Warriors top Huntsmen

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

Published in Varsity

Sunday, 17 April 2016 13:52

Adena Baseball - Stats Leaders as of 4/13/16

Itty Bitty Baseball

VARSITY

1 - JD Blevins - 5

2 - Bo Dratwa - 3

3 - Collin Cory - 2

T4 - Wilburn, Throckmorton, Reisinger, Preston & Howard - 1

JUNIOR VARSITY (as of 4/15/2016)

1 - Caleb Fogelson - 3

T1 - Josh Morgan - 3

2 - Ethan Cunningham - 2

T2 - Garrett Cornell - 2

T3 - Dillon, Kunkel & Fout - 1

Published in Adena Baseball

Sunday, 17 April 2016 13:47

Warriors show hand, sweep Aces 4/16/2016

Derrick Webb, 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

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.

Published in Varsity

Tuesday, 05 April 2016 03:02

Cory deals Warriors past Panthers

Derrick Webb, 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

Wednesday, 30 March 2016 02:38

Warriors Error Free in Season Opener Win over Greenfield McClain

2016SeniorSigns Franfort -- The Adena Warriors open up 2016 with a win as they knock off the Greenfield McClain Tigers. The Warriors belted out 9 hits including 3 doubles to give sophomore LHP JD Blevins plenty of support as Blevins was very good on the bump this evening. In the 7 inning complete game outing, Blevins holds the Tigers scores giving up only 2 hits and 1 BB to go along with 10 strikeouts.

Offensively the Warriors wore 3 pitches!! Offensive leaders on the night included:

Collin Cory, 3-3, 2B, 2 RBIs & 3 SBs

Braden Wilburn, 3-4, 2B, 2 RBIs

Jonathon Thomas 2B, RBI, SB

Tommy Preston, 1B, RBI

JD Blevins HBP, 1B

Jake Dawson, SB

Skylar Reisinger, HBP, SB

Bowen Dratwa, HBP

The Warriors are back in action Thursday as the visit the Wheelerburg Pirates (5 pm start) and then finish up week one as they participate in the First Pitch Classic Saturday against the Waverly Tigers, 3:30 pm start.

Published in Varsity