Tuscarawas County baseball teams reach midseason mark

Indian Valley’s baseball team was in the thick of the hunt for the Inter-Valley Conference South Division title as the first half of the conference season was wrapping up. The Braves, with a 5-1 conference record, shared the top spot with Hiland. The teams split a pair of games the first week of April.

Overall, the Braves, who started the season with four consecutive victories, were 8-3. They did not have a conference game scheduled this past week and will return to conference play April 27 at home against Claymont before traveling to Claymont two days later.

Sophomore H. Beaber was leading the team with a .474 average in 38 at-bats. He had scored 10 runs. Senior D. Beaber led the team with 13 RBIs.

On the mound, senior A. McCreery was 1-2 with a 1.91 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings. D. Beaber was 3-0 and had struck out 15 through 17 innings.

The following is a look at how Tuscarawas County squads have fared through the season so far.

Claymont was 5-7 overall approaching the midway point, with a 2-2 mark in the Inter-Valley Conference. They were scheduled to play a home-and-home against Sandy Valley earlier this week and will play at Indian Valley on Monday and at home against the Braves on Wednesday. Braylon Meuhlen was off to a hot start with a .424 average, two home runs and 10 runs scored. Nolan McMorrow had a .343 average with five doubles, while Nate Downing had a team-best eight RBIs. Downing also was 3-0 on the mound with a 1.70 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings.

Dover headed into the week with an 8-6 overall record against a stout schedule. The Tornadoes were 3-3 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference with a pair scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday against Ashland. This coming week, Dover will take on Mansfield Senior on the road Tuesday and at home Wednesday. The Tornadoes headed into the week on a three-game winning streak during which they outscored their opponents 24-2.

New Philadelphia started the season with nine consecutive wins before dropping a 5-4 decision to Carrollton April 17, and that took nine innings for the Quakers to fall. A 14-0 win over Claymont the next day started a new streak, and the Quakers, who were 6-0 in Ohio Cardinal Conference play, were looking to extend it on Tuesday and Wednesday against Mansfield. After a nonleague contest Saturday against Canton Central Catholic, New Philadelphia will return to conference action at home against Ashland April 28 and at Ashland the following day.

Tuscarawas Central Catholic was scuffling a bit out of the gate, posting a 3-8 record over the first half of the regular season. The Saints were 2-4 in the Inter-Valley Conference with games set for April 20 and 22 against Conotton Valley. They had a nonleague game at Claymont April 24 and will host Strasburg-Franklin April 28, then travel to Strasburg April 30. Ellis Jackson was hitting a team-best .314 through 11 games and led the team with 11 runs scored. Dylan Dumermuth was batting .278 with a team-high nine RBIs. Clayton Coolman and Nicholas Lesiecki had been solid on the mound. Coolman had a 0.84 ERA in 16 2/3 innings, striking out eight. Lesiecki posted a 2.00 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 21 innings. Mistakes hurt the pitching efforts overall; the Saints were allowing four unearned runs per outing.

Strasburg-Franklin was off to a nice start with eight wins in its first 10 games. The Tigers were also 2-0 in the Inter-Valley Conference and headed into a pair of games against Buckeye Trail April 20 and 22 on a seven-game winning streak. SF had a busy week scheduled, with three nonconference games leading into a return to IVC action April 27 at East Canton and April 29 against East Canton at home, with Tuscarawas Central Catholic on the day in between. Sophomore Brody Baughman led the team with a .464 average, just ahead of junior Brodie Hurst’s .441 mark. Hurst led the team with 12 RBIs. Senior Drew Lancaster was hitting .414 with a team-best 11 runs. Baughman was 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings.

Sandy Valley headed into the week with a 4-4 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the IVC. The Cardinals started off the year 4-1 but dropped three in a row heading into the week. They were set to play Claymont April 20 and 22, with nonleague games against Marlington and Malvern to finish the week. SV will return to league play with games against Garaway April 27 and 29, sandwiched around a trip to Tuslaw.

Tusky Valley was off to a bit of a rough start, going 3-9 over the first half of the regular-season schedule. The Trojans entered the week still looking for their first IVC victory. Their next two opportunities were to begin with a home game against Garaway April 20. The teams were to meet again April 23 at Tusky Valley, with the Trojans playing April 21 at home against Canton South. The Trojans’ next two conference contests are April 27 and 29, away and home, respectively, against Ridgewood.