SOSA Staff Report
WILLIAMSPORT — For quite some time now, Westfall’s Lucas Blackburn has been regarded as one of the region’s top pitchers … not alone his own conference’s.
After COVID took away Blackburn’s junior season, the senior pitched like he was on a mission each night this spring. He did nothing to negate his reputation, posting a 1.28 ERA and striking out a league-high 134 hitters alongside an 8-2 record.
And in league play, he was 5-1 with a 1.86 ERA and 86 strikeouts.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Blackburn’s contributions on the hill, and at the plate, helped the Mustangs win a second consecutive league title — sharing the honor with Unioto. For all of the above, he’s been named the Scioto Valley Conference Player of the Year.
Blackburn’s coach, Trevor Thomas, is the SVC’s Coach of the Year after aiding the Mustangs to a 12-2 finish in league play and an overall record of 20-6.
Unioto’s Cameron and Carson DeBord, whose Shermans handed the Mustangs their only two league losses, are first-team all-league selections, as is Adena’s Nate Throckmorton, Zane Trace’s Ben Nichols, Huntington’s Gavin Free, Paint Valley’s Brock Blanton, and Westfall’s pair of Titan Williams and Peyton Weiss.
Earning second-team honors are Adena’s Jarrett Garrison and Carter Glandon, Unioto’s Micah Geise and Landyn Patterson, Paint Valley’s Dax Estep, Piketon’s Easton Lansing and Johnny Burton, Huntington’s DJ Crocker, and Southeastern’s Jaylen Murta.
Honorable mention selections are as follows: Adena’s Dillon McDonald and Will Dratwa, Huntington’s Emery Woods and Braylen Leach, Paint Valley’s Connor Free and Trent Mettler, Piketon’s Roger Woodruff and Jerrod Tackett, Southeastern’s Connor Smith and Jarrett McWhorter, Unioto’s Andrew Lemaster and Dewey Dailey, Westfall’s Hunter McCoy and Ashton Nunemaker, and Zane Trace’s Brody Tatman and Brayden Phillips.