LUCASVILLE — The Valley Indians, in all likelihood, learned the hard way a year ago that there was no margin for error in the 10-game Southern Ohio Conference Division III baseball championship chase.
So, on Wednesday at least against the defending division champion yet younger Wheelersburg Pirates, the Indians started fast —as Carson Powell put the cruise control on while high atop the pitcher’s mound.
Powell struck out 10 Pirates in earning the pitching win, Nolan Barnett gained the save, the Valley duo combined to strand 11 Wheelersburg baserunners, and the Indians eked out a run apiece in three of the four opening innings.
The final result was a hard-earned 3-1 Valley win on Wednesday upon The Reservation, which kept the Indians undefeated at 4-0 —as the early April contest indeed marked the SOC III opener.
The Indians’ initial at-bat resulted in an unearned run, followed by earned runs apiece in the second and fourth frames.
Wheelersburg, which graduated nine seniors from last season’s SOC III title team, fell to 1-2 —as Valley vanquished the Pirates for the first time since the 2022 campaign.
This marks the second season of the SOC expanding baseball (and softball) divisions to three —meaning both Valley and Wheelersburg are playing 10 league tilts, compared to the former 16 for some time.
Valley only sports two seniors and graduated just one, but it’s an Indian unit which has played a lot of baseball games together.
They just didn’t always finish off victories in 2024, compared to what Wednesday’s win was.
And, with what 2025 could turn out to be.
“Last year, we lost so many close games it was unbelievable. We had 13 losses, and 11 of them we had the lead or were tied in the fifth inning or later. We had six extra-inning games last year. We just didn’t finish. I told the guys during the preseason that I felt like we lost 11 two-inning games. So if we can find a way to finish, just be close and do things well in the sixth or seventh innings, we’re going to be just fine. We have talented kids,” said veteran Valley coach Nolan Crabtree. “It wasn’t perfect and we have plenty of things to clean up, but we played well today. Anytime you win, you’re not going to be upset about it. Starting 1-0 in the league is where it is at.”
The Indians, despite making three errors, didn’t let the first two cost them.
That’s because Powell early and Barnett late pitched out of jams, as Wheelersburg left at least two runners aboard in the first, second, fifth and sixth —including with the bases loaded in the second and fifth.
Powell opened the second stanza with back-to-back strikeouts, but an error and Powell’s only walks loaded the bases.
But Powell struck out junior pitching counterpart Cooper Heimbach to end the threat.
That began a string of six straight strikeouts for Powell, part of seven retired Pirates in a row —as he caught a pop-up just off the mound for that seventh consecutive out.
In the fifth, Powell gave up a leadoff single to Drew Holland —then hit Brady Doss with a two-out pitch on his 21st and final batter of the game.
Barnett relieved Powell, but promptly plunked Jack Picklesimer on the opening Wheelersburg batter he saw.
That loaded the bases, but Barnett induced Brody Wilburn to fly out to Gabe McNeil in centerfield for the inning-ending out.
Powell pitched his way out of a one-out jam in the first, as Heimbach singled and Doss reached on an unsuccessful fielder’s choice.
Powell recorded his first strikeout of the day when he got Wilburn looking.
Barnett —again —worked his way out of sixth-and-seventh stanza situations, as another Indian error and Drake Bundy’s basehit single put Pirate runners on, and his wild pitch advanced them to third.
But Barnett battled back with his two ...
