PROCTORVILLE — This Ironton Baker was really cooking. Braydon Baker fired a three-hit shutout as the Fighting Tigers blanked the Fairland Dragons 8-0 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Monday. Baker struck out eight, walked two and 64 of his 95 pitches were strikes. “Braydon Baker pitched a great game,” said Ironton head coach John Hunt. “He pitched himself out of a few jams and the defense came around and played well behind him to preserve the shutout.” Ironton (2-1, 1-0)

AID — The Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers faced a tall order on Saturday but they didn’t shrink down. Ironton faced one Division 1 pitching commit and a possible second top prospect as they dropped a pair of games at the annual 26th Valley of Thunder softball showcase, but the Lady Fighting Tigers battled from start to finish. Both the Chillicothe Lady Cavaliers (10-0) and the Kenton Ridge Lady Cougars (8-0) are unbeaten on the season. But Ironton (3-4) lost just 6-0 to the Chil

WHEELERSBURG — Pitching made a “Hughes” difference for the Ironton Fighting Tigers. Jacob Hughes pitched a two-hitter as Ironton blanked the Wheelersburg Pirates 2-0 in a non-league game on Thursday. Hughes struck out nine, did not issue a walk and used just 87 pitches as he got the complete game win along with the help of some good base running and clutch hitting. “He’s just a bulldog,” said Ironton coach John Hunt. “He just goes out there and he just keeps on playing and he

PROCTORVILLE — Ava Bihl wasn’t perfect. But she came close. The Ironton junior pitcher fired a five-inning no-hitter with only a pair of walks preventing her from getting a perfect game as the Lady Fighting Tigers blanked the Fairland Lady Dragons 10-0 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Thursday. Bihl struck out 14 of the 15 outs to get the win. She also went 1-3 at the plate with a run batted in. Ironton (3-2, 1-0) banged out 10 hits with seven different players connecting

IRONTON — When opportunity knocks, at least look out the peep hole. Ironton had its opportunities but the Fighting Tigers were unable to capitalize in a 5-1 season opening loss to the West Jefferson Roughriders on Sunday. “We just did not adjust to the game as it was being played,” said Ironton coach John Hunt. “We had plenty of chances, but we watched too many called third strikes in crucial situations.” The Roughriders (1-0) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Blake Bogenr

ATHENS — Someone check those rims for plexiglass. Maybe there wasn’t anything blocking the basket, but something wasn’t going right for the Ironton Fighting Tigers. Having shot the ball well in three trips to the Ohio University Convocation Center, nothing seemed to fall on Saturday as Ironton lost a heartbreaker 45-42 to the West Muskingum Tornadoes in the Division 5 regional championship game. The Fighting Tigers had little problem with their shooting in three tournament wi

ATHENS — In the famous novel Tale of Two Cities, the book’s opening lines by the great writer Charles Dickens were, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” On Wednesday in the Division 5 regional semifinals at Ohio University’s Convocation Center, the Ironton Fighting Tigers wrote the script for Tale of Two Halves. After trailing by as 12 points in the first half and losing at halftime, Ironton put together a strong second half and beat the Eastern Brown Warrio

COSHOCTON — Add one more tournament to three wrestlers seasons. Ironton Fighting Tigers’ Nate Sloan, Chesapeake Panthers’ Bryce Myers and Symmes Valley Vikings’ Enoch Patterson all earned a berth in the Ohio High School Athletic Association state wrestling tournament. All three wrestlers placed in the top four places in the Division 3 district tournament this past weekend. Sloan is making a second straight trip to the state tournament after placing fourth in the 132-pound wei

ATHENS — If fans and pundits are not talking about the Ironton Fighting Tigers basketball team, they better start. Ironton continued it’s amazing season by using the same formula it has all season to topple the Wheelersburg Pirates 63-47 to win the Division 5 district championship at the Ohio University Convocation Center on Saturday. Avenging one of its only two losses this season, Ironton used defense and controlling the backboards to win its first district title since 2015

ATHENS — In a tournament, the idea is to survive and move on. The Ironton Fighting Tigers proved they were survivors. The top-seeded Fighting Tigers were facing their rivals in the Division 5 district semifinals on Tuesday at the Ohio University Convocation Center. The rival Portsmouth Trojans — who gave Ironton one of their two losses on the season — took Ironton to the wire but the Fighting Tigers held on for. 49-46 win. Ironton (21-2) will now play Eastern Brown at 2 p.m.

2025-26 Ohio Prep Sports Media Association All-Southeast District Girls Basketball Teams Division 2 Second Team Ella Hinton, Logan, 5-7, Jr., 14 Special Mention Ryann Landis, Logan Division 3 First Team Hayleigh Chidester, Marietta, 5-8, Sr., 10.2; Milee Smith, Unioto, 5-10, Sr., 23.7; Mylie Forgrave, Sheridan, 5-3, Sr., 12.0; Ella Chapman, Athens, 5-2, Sr., 11.5 Player of the Year: Milee Smith, Unioto Coach of the Year: J.D. Walters, Sheridan Second Team Keyairah Beard, U

IRONTON — Ironton coach Drew Stevens was worried about a letdown. What he got was a never let up. After beating Coal Grove twice in the regular season, Stevens was concerned that his team might not be as focused as it should be. Hey coach. Breathe easy. Your boys have your back. Ironton forced 13 first half turnovers and began the game with a 14-0 run en route to a 62-24 win over the Hornets in the Division 5 District quarterfinals. Ironton (20-2) led 16-4 after the first qua

COAL GROVE — The Ironton Fighting Tigers were sputtering and going nowhere. Enter their own Energizer Bunny: Zayne Williams. The Ironton 5-foot-9 senior forward provided the needed energy to jump start the Fighting Tigers as they came to life in the fourth quarter to beat the upset-minded Coal Grove Hornets 51-34 in an Ohio Valley Conference game Saturday afternoon. The OVC co-leaders were tied with the Hornets after three quarters when Williams put a charge in his teammates.

IRONTON — There’s something about the Rock Hill Redmen that brings out the offense in the Ironton Fighting Tigers. Ironton scored 80 points in a win earlier this season against the Redmen and then the two teams were putting up the points again on Friday. Ironton scored a season-high total as they topped the Redmen 84-70 in an Ohio Valley Conference game. Ironton (16-2, 11-1) had four players in double figures led by Ashton Layne with 29 points. Brycen Mullins scored 14, Maddi

GALLIPOLIS — What was an ugly performance turned out to have a beautiful ending. For most of the game, Ironton was sluggish and didn’t shoot well. But the Fighting Tigers picked up their play late and Carson Freeman made everything beautiful at the end. Trailing by as many as 13 points, Ironton rallied in the fourth quarter to get within two points and Freeman drained a 3-pointer with two seconds left to give the Fighting Tigers a thrilling 67-66 Ohio Valley Conference win ov

IRONTON — If the Coal Grove Lady Hornets have any thoughts of being a lawyer, they’d focus on being a defense attorney. Coal Grove used a strong defense to beat the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers 37-19 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Monday. “I thought our defense was good all night,” said Lady Hornets’ coach Nick Miller. “Offensively, we didn’t convert on some good opportunities. Our offense wasn’t bad, we just didn’t make shots consistently.” Jenna Anson scored 9 points

IRONTON — Ironton’s linescore on Friday was: 8 13 22 22. But in layman’s terms, it was: that was ugly, not much better, OK now we’re cooking, feeling much better. Ironton shook off a sluggish first half and put together a strong second half to beat the South Point Pointers 65-32 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Friday. “It was a horrible first half for us. They did a good job of trying to take us out, slowing us down a bit,” said Ironton coach Drew Stevens. “They were

The coaches called. The visits were made. The offers were on the table. But when Ironton senior wrestler Nate Sloan looked at all the offers, only one program had something the others couldn’t offer. His brother. With his brother Ben already a member of the University of Rio Grande wrestling team, Nate accepted the RedStorm offer. Sloan admitted that his decision was affected by his brother. “I’d really be lying if I said I didn’t. I really wanted to wrestle with him again. I

PORTSMOUTH – A couple of defensive stalwarts added a little offense to their game. Zayne Williams and Kayden Edwards are known for their defense, but they combined for 19 points as the Ironton Fighting Tigers beat the Portsmouth West Senators 57-46 in the Buckeye Classic on Saturday. Edwards scored 11 points and Williams had 8 to help Ashton Layne who had 19 points and Maddix Markel with 10 points. Will Kegley had 19 points and Logan McIntire 16 for West (7-5). Markel scored

IRONTON — It always goes without saying, an ugly win is a whole lot better than a pretty loss. Ironton didn’t have its prettiest game of the season but the Fighting Tigers were able to leave without a pretty loss as they beat the Gallia Academy Blue Devils 58-47 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Monday. “Listen. We got us a win. It wasn’t pretty. Our foul shots were atrocious tonight,” said Ironton coach Drew Stevens. “We’re going to shoot foul shots for a lot of time in p