What we learned from latest week of high school baseball and softball season

CHILLICOTHE — The solar eclipse's path of totality may have missed the Chillicothe area, but another week in the high school baseball and softball season did not.

As the season ticks by and the first week of conference play wraps up, teams and players from around the area have brought a new batch of developments. Adena baseball stuck out a win over Huntington on Friday, while Kiera Williams pitched a perfect game in softball. Five teams sit tied in the Scioto Valley Conference baseball standings, and the race for first has kicked up another notch.

Every week, there's bound to be new takeaways to reflect upon. The standings are ever shifting, dynamics are changing and teams from around the area bring a new batch of upsets and shake-ups. Here's what we learned from the past week of the high school baseball and softball season:

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Adena softball pitching on a tear

The Warriors have far and away the best overall record of any team in the area, and much of that success comes down to their rotation. It doesn't matter who is in the circle — three players have been given the starting nod so far — the Warriors have found success. They managed to shut down Huntington, which had never been held scoreless before Friday's game, after an eight-strikeout outing from Hailey Howard.

Saturday, on the other hand, was Adena's best performance of the year bar none. Kiera Williams threw a perfect game on 10 strikeouts to lead Adena to a 12-0 win, and Sophie Cheesebrew posted another complete game shutout with two strikeouts in a 23-0 win.

It helps that Adena's working with a solid defense which hasn't lost a game in over a week. Still, Adena's working with a solid rotation, and it seems to only be improving.

Is the SVC baseball race widening?

Ahead of conference play last week, the Scioto Valley Conference was shaping up to be competitive, if not similar to the race last year. The past week has all but turned that idea on its head. Zane Trace still holds first place with a spotless 2-0 record, and Paint Valley is working with a 1-0 conference record after two game were called off.

The rest, however, is wide open. Unioto, Huntington, Southeastern, Westfall and Adena are all 1-1. Adena clambered back after upsetting Huntington 1-0 on Friday. Westfall defeated Adena on Monday, Adena upset Huntington on Friday night with a 1-0 win, and Huntington took down Unioto 6-1 last week.

With so many teams already beating each other, that leaves a potential seven-team race for the top of the SVC just a week into conference play. At the very least, all the upsets have brought opportunities for any team to clamber ahead.

Unioto baseball rebounding quick

The Shermans stepped back after their loss to the Huntsmen last week, but they've rebounded well over the past several days. They managed to crawl out to an 8-0 lead over Paint Valley on Wednesday before the game was suspended by weather, and they dropped a 13-3 win over Piketon later that week.

Unioto doesn't draw games out, either. Its offense rolls in, hits hard and doesn't let up. When someone gets a hit, the rest of the lineup isn't far behind to pile on.

Southeastern softball stops losing streak

At long last, the Panthers have a win to their name. After struggling to get over the hump, they upended Rock Hill on Saturday after scoring six runs in the seventh inning while down to their last out. Sure, it might have come in crunch time, but the Panthers dug in and earned a win when it mattered most.

After struggling to break out early, Southeastern is over the hump. One win doesn't do much on its own, sure, but it does take the pressure off. Southeastern doesn't have the need for a first win hanging over its head now. Plus, Gracie Brown bolstered her already solid start to the season after going 2-for-4 with a triple, two RBIs and a run on Saturday. The pieces are all there, and the Panthers are beginning to put them in place.

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Four takeaways from latest week of high school baseball and softball season