Carson Francis, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
KINNIKINNICK — Since 2001, Unioto has done a lot of winning under its skipper, Tony Taylor.
In his tenure, Taylor has led the Shermans to over 400 wins, eight SVC championships, three district titles and five Top 10 finishes in the state coaches’ poll.
But one thing missing from that resume, however, was an SVC Gold Ball.
“Looking back on it, winning the Gold Ball in SVC baseball is one of the hardest things to do. I’ve been around other sports and seen how these other sports do it. But winning the Gold Ball with all these great teams has been really hard to accomplish,” Taylor said. “That’s baseball. You can never predict what baseball’s going to do for you, and that’s why it’s the greatest sport.”
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
This year, Taylor’s Shermans vowed to change Taylor’s resume for the better.
And, despite a slow start to the season, Unioto left no doubt that it was still the top dawg in the SVC by blitzing its way to a 13-0 start in league play.
All that stood in the Shermans’ path to a Gold Ball was a rematch with Zane Trace, whom also looked to share the title with Unioto.
But the Shermans (17-6, 14-0 SVC) didn’t want to share anything.
A complete-game, eight-strikeout performance on the mound from senior KB Perkins highlighted the team’s 6-1 defeat of the Pioneers, clinching the program’s sixth SVC title in eight seasons and handing Taylor a new resume piece.
“[Perkins] has been wanting it all year long. At times, he’s wanted it more than I have. He’s told me every time that he was getting me a Gold Ball, and he got me one,” Taylor said. “He’s been locked in with him missing last year after blowing his knee out. This means a little bit more to him. He’s been more driven this year and he’s been pushing everybody around him. It’s just what leaders do.”
With his last chance at a Gold Ball on the line, Perkins left it all on the field on Thursday.
After Jaxon Zickafoose singled to begin the contest, and stole both second and third, Perkins put his team on the board first with a one-out RBI double. Callaway Ratliff then singled in Perkins, putting Unioto ahead 2-0 out of the gates.
That would set up Perkins perfectly to go to work on the hill. After falling behind 3-0 to his first batter, he worked his way to a strikeout to start ZT’s half of the first — a frame that finished with the Pioneers retired in order.
PHOTOS: Images from Unioto’s win over Zane Trace
Then, Unioto would land another punch in the second.
Caden Cutright led off with a single and stole second base. After tagging up and advancing to third on a flyout, he found his way home when Jack Welch singled into right field, making it 3-0.
“We talked about it coming in here, how we wanted to get going right off the bat and send a message,” Welch said. “Jaxon started off, and unfortunately I couldn’t back him up, but Keegan did a good job doing that and KB hit a nice liner to get us going.”
But following a shutout home half of the second, Zane Trace started to threaten in its half of the third.
With two outs, the Pioneers had a runner advance to third on an error and had runners on the corners, looking to make a dent in the deficit.
However, Perkins worked his way to an important out with the help of his catcher, Keegan Snyder. On a 3-2 count, Snyder chased a foul pop-up all the way to the backstop, where he made the catch to end the inning and extinguish ZT’s momentum.
“When you’ve got a great catcher behind the plate, you don’t have to worry about what you’re going to throw, because you know he’s going to keep it in front of him,” Taylor said. “You know that he’s not going to give other guys free bases, and that helped KB relax. [Perkins and Snyder] have been playing together for a really long time, and they make a great 1-2.”
Even after a much-needed defensive stop, Perkins wasn’t satisfied and went back for more at the plate in the fourth.
Following a walk to load the bases with no outs, the senior roped a payoff pitch into right field, clearing the bases with a three-run double and extending the Shermans’ lead to 6-0.
There was still plenty of game left, but Unioto had all but delivered the knockout punch.
The Pioneers (17-5, 12-2 SVC) would get on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the sixth. After a Josh Young single, Coen Larson would score on an error to make it a 6-1 count.
But Perkins finished off Zane Trace in the seventh.
Despite two Pioneers reaching base, Perkins shut the door, including a fly out to Caden Cutright in centerfield and sealing the deal on an outright SVC title and Gold Ball.
“Any time you play your rival team for the league, something sparks in you. I know my job on this team is not just to pitch, but to use my bat, as well,” Perkins said. “I did that pretty well tonight, and my teammates backed me up on the mound and we got the dub.”
Unioto’s hitting brigade was led by Caden Speakman, who finished 3-for-4 with a double. Perkins did more than enough to aid his own cause, finishing 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and four RBIs. Welch also finished 2-for-4 while driving in a run and stealing a base, and Zickafoose also came up with two hits and stole three bags.
Zane Trace will look to rebound as it travels to Athens on Monday. After wrapping up the regular season with meetings against Valley and Amanda-Clearcreek, the Pioneers will begin their postseason on May 28 at Logan High School, facing either Minford or Rock Hill.
Meanwhile, the Shermans finish the regular season on Friday as they welcome in Lynchburg-Clay. Their tournament trail will begin on May 22, when they await the winner of Vinton County and McClain.
“We got beat right from the get-go last year. We were the one seed and we got beat in the very first game. If we play like we did then, we’ll be done after one game again,” Taylor said. “If we come out ready to go, we could make a long run. It will all work out the way it’s supposed to, but we’ll see where it goes three or four weeks from now.”
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