by Gregg Meadows
Third-year Tri-Valley varsity baseball head coach Marc Hadley has his Scotties primed for another successful season coming off last year’s 18-6-1 overall record which included a Muskingum Valley League runnerup record of 13-3 (Sheridan won their second straight MVL title last season) and some post-season accomplishments as well for the black and gold.
Last season, the Diamond Dawgs won an OHSAA D-II Sectional championship with a 9-2 win over Steubenville in Dresden at Kenny Wolford Park, and a District tourney semi-final 5-0 win over the John Glenn Muskies, before losing a heartbreaking 5-4 decision to New Philadelphia in the District title game.
And if the Scottie’s first two games of the young season are any indication, the 2024 baseball year at TVHS could be a good one.
Blessed with a solid core of returning talent at the plate, on the mound and in the field, the Scotties traveled to Newark on Wednesday, March 27 for their season opener to test out the non-league Wildcats new turf field, and found that it was to their liking, as visiting Tri-Valley returned to Dresden with a hard-earned 3-1 win.
Scottie senior hurler Kyler Brennen got the start in the season opener, and allowed one run on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks in five innings of work, then junior Kade Hindel tossed two scoreless innings of relief to earn the win.
Tri-Valley senior Ashton Sensibaugh led the Tri-Valley offense with three hits – including a double – and brought home a run as well, while junior Brady Kaufman had a run-scoring suicide squeeze and Gavin Harrold and Kian Drummonds added hits for the winners.
Coach Logan Scott’s Scottie JV team also won their season opener by a 4-3 count over the host Wildcats in a game played just ahead of the TV @ Newark season opener. Casen Baker and Oliver Baker led the Tri-Valley reserves’ eight-hit attack with a pair of singles each, with Ryan Lamonica, Isaiah Cullins, and Blayne Riley also adding singles. Draven Spinks got the mound win, giving up six hits and three runs, while also adding a single at the plate as well.
On Thursday, March 28 in Dresden in the home opener at Kenny Wolford Park, the Scotties dispatched the visiting Coshocton Redskins by a 7-2 count – but it wasn’t easy, as Tri-Valley trailed 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning before erupting for all seven of their runs in the inning to get the win.
Winning pitcher Gavin Harrold struck out 11 and allowed no earned runs in six innings to lead the Scotties to victory, while TV senior Nate Better led the way offensively with two singles and two RBIs and Brady Kaufman added an RBI double for Tri-Valley. Nash Baughman pitched the final inning in relief for the Scotties, and mowed down a pair of Redskins on strikes to end the game. Baden Everly added a double for the Scotties, while Ethan McClellan, Kyler Brennen and Daniel Huffman added singles as well for the winners.
The Scottie JV’s traveled to Coshocton the same night, and came home with a 15-3 win over the host Redskins JVs. Isaiah Cullins led Scottie batsmen with a 3-3 night, with a pair of runs scored and an rbi, while teammate Quinton Hindel went 2-2 with a double and two runs scored. Ryan Lamonica had a two-bagger as well for the winners, and Drew Watton a single with two rbi’s. Grayson Foster and Oliver Lanning teamed up for the mound win in their five innings of work.
As is the case with HS spring sports, Mother Nature has already intervened early in the season, as the Monday, April 1 scheduled game at John Glenn was wiped out due to area heavy rain and soggy fields, and the Tuesday, April 2 TV vs JG game in Dresden in jeopardy as well.
Here’s a quick look at the talent that returns (and their numbers from last season) for Scottie baseball for 2024: Seniors Nathan Better (center field, .328 average, five doubles, 18 stolen bases), Ashton Sensibaugh (outfield, .307, 17 RBIs, 22 stolen bases), Kyler Brennen (pitcher-third base, 2-1, 0.94 ERA, 23 strikeouts, seven walks), Ethan McClellan (outfield); Juniors Brady Kaufman (shortstop-pitcher, .313, 13 doubles, a home run, 21 RBIs, 1.50 ERA, 28 strikeouts, four walks), Daniel Huffman (utility), Kade Hindel (pitcher-infield), and Kian Drummonds (catcher). Key Newcomers for the Scotties include: Juniors Gavin Harrold (third base-first base-pitcher), Baiden Everly (first base), and sophomore Blayne Riley (infield-catcher).
