Derrick Webb, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — Just last week, Unioto found itself trailing rival Zane Trace by a 7-4 tally heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Facing their first loss of their conference season straight in the eyes, the Shermans mounted a four-run rally to steal an 8-7 win from the jaws of defeat.
And right then and there, something clicked.
Coach Rob Hull’s team came into that contest already viewed as one of the top clubs in Southern Ohio. But after the victory, the Shermans have taken yet another step forward.
In the past four days, Unioto has handed two of the Scioto Valley Conference’s top-tier teams losses — beating Westfall by a 20-9 final on Monday and following it with Wednesday’s 15-5 win over Adena.
Needless to say, Hull is on cloud nine.
“All the hard work and dedication that they’ve put in from the offseason until now … I’m just extremely proud of them,” Hull said. “We’ve talked about taking it one game at a time. Their play right now is at a top level.”
Rather quickly, the Shermans (15-1, 7-0 SVC) dug a 4-0 hole on Wednesday.
The Warriors (13-3, 6-1 SVC) plated a run in the top of the first inning when singled and eventually scored on a passed ball. They followed that run with three more in the second inning, an outburst powered by a two-run home run from Guarnieri that made it a 4-0 ballgame.
But from that point forward, it was all Unioto.
PHOTOS: Images from Unioto’s win over Adena
“We never wavered,” Hull said. “We never went into panic mode. We talk about making our focus small at the plate. We find the zone and when the ball hits the zone, we drive it. It took us a while to get going. But once we settled in and took control, things started clicking.”
Emma Specht and Hannah Hull both reached base in the bottom of the second, making way for Ava Dettwiller to unload on a 1-0 pitch that sailed over the outfield fence, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
Later in the inning, Unioto’s Morgan Daniels squared up a pitch and reached on error, allowing Amaris Betts to prance home and tie the score.
The game’s next score came in the fourth when Alexis Book gave the Shermans a 5-4 lead with a solo homer. Two batters later, Abbie Marshall played long ball and made it a 6-4 tally with the team’s third bomb of the night.
Specht then tacked on another run with an RBI single, knocking in Megan Miller, for a 7-4 score.
Adena got a run back in the top of the fifth following back-to-back singles from Kiera Williams and Emma Garrison. After both runners moved up, Caelan Miner logged an RBI groundout to score Williams and cut the Shermans’ lead to 7-5.
But in the bottom half of the fifth, both Dettwiller and Halle Uhrig scored on passed balls to push the lead to 9-5. Then, in the sixth, Unioto exploded for six runs to send fans home early – a sequence that was capped with a three-run triple from Betts and Book’s second homer of the night, a two-run shot.
“Going from last year to this year, these girls are just dead-focused on what they need to do,” Hull said. “This is a team, and that’s different from years past. We don’t have individuals and we don’t have people complaining about things. These girls have set their goals and they’re focused on those.”
Book ended the night 3-for-4 with two home runs, two runs scored and three RBIs while Miller was 2-for-4 with two runs. Marshall finished 1-for-4 with a homer and an RBI, and Dettwiller was 1-for-3 with a home run, three runs and a trio of RBIs.
Hannah Hull got the win in the circle, going all six innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits and striking out two.
Also shining in the lineup was Specht and Betts, two newcomers to this year’s starting lineup. Together, they went 5-for-8 and knocked in four runs — Specht was 3-for-4 and Betts was 2-for-3.
“Last year, Emma struggled a little bit and got down on herself. But this year, she’s put in so much work. It’s not surprising to us because we knew she had it in her,” Hull said. “Amaris is doing a lot of things that she’s never done before. But when she barrels up, she knows what to do. She sees the ball really well at the plate. She’s been a big part of this team.”
Adena was led by Guarnieri, who was 2-for-3 with a solo homer and two RBIs while Williams ended the night 2-for-3 with a run.
Unioto followed the win with a 9-7 victory over Fairfield on Thursday while Adena fell to Chillicothe by a 7-6 final. Both teams will also be in action on Friday with the Warriors hosting Westfall and Unioto traveling to Huntington.
“They’re working their butts off and it shows,” Hull said. “They know what they have to accomplish. But right now, every accolade is a true statement of where we are as a program.”
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