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GALLIPOLIS — Ironton was taking its games one at a time and decided their key game against Gallia Academy, they would cross that bridge when they got there. The game came on Tuesday as the Fighting Tigers decided they’d cross the Carter Bridges against the Blue Devils. Bridges went 3-4 with a double, home run and 3 runs batted in to lead a 15-hit attack and spark Ironton to an 8-3 must-win in an Ohio Valley Conference showdown. “That was the best all-around game we have playe

IRONTON — There’s a cliche that says it’s not how you start but how you finish. But that’s not always true. The St. Joseph Flyers played Wellston even the final 6 innings, but the Golden Rockets started with a 7-run first inning to post a 10-3 win on Tuesday. Wellston (13-8) got 6 of its 12 hits in the big first inning. Braxton Ingalls, Dalton Barnett and Caden Matthews all singled to start the game for a 2-0 lead. Kyson Witt walked and then Aiden Fenwick singled and Carson M

Russell Red Devils’ senior wide receivers Cayden and Jayden Pennington signed a letter-of-intent with the Union Commonwealth University Bulldogs. Attending the signing ceremony were, from left to right, Kiersten Clark, Paul Patterson, Kathy Patterson, Amanda Clark and father Zack Clark. (Photo submitted) Just when it appeared Russell Red Devils’ twin brothers were headed in opposite directions for the first time in their lives, an offer came that they couldn’t refuse. Wide re

IRONTON — The offense was getting hits while the pitcher wasn’t giving up hits. It was the perfect combination. The Ironton Fighting Tigers banged out 11 hits while pitcher Carson Freeman hurled a one-hitter in a 10-0 Ohio Valley Conference run rule win on Monday. “Carson pitched a very good game and the kids hit well,” said Ironton coach John Hunt. “The key for us is to keep getting good pitching and keeping our bats going.” Freeman picked up his second win of the season — b

PROCTORVILLE — The Gallia Academy Blue Devils kept pace in the race. Maddux Delaney and Logen Drummond combined on a 3-hitter as the Blue Devils edged the Fairland Dragons 3-1 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Monday. The Blue Devils are now 14-6 overall and remain locked in a battle for the league title with Ironton and Portsmouth. Gallia and Ironton are 9-2 and Portsmouth is one-half game ahead at 10-2. Delaney went 5 innings giving up 3 hits, one earned run with 2 strik

IRONTON — It was gut check time and the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers were up to the challenge. Trailing by two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Ironton scored 3 times and slipped past the South Point Lady Pointers 6-5 to clinch the Ohio Valley Conference softball title. Ironton is 15-6 on the season and clinches the title with a 1-0 record. Ironton holds a 3-game lead over South Point with only two league games to play. South Point is now 16-7 and 9-3 in the OVC. Ava

Postgame interview with Green's Jon Knapp, Riddick Jenkins, and Gabe Blevins. The three talk about the play of their defense and their team's mindset heading into tournament play. FRANKLIN FURNACE — Three-peat. With a 7-2 win over the St. Joseph Flyers on Monday, the Green Bobcats wrapped up their third straight Southern Ohio Conference-1 championship. Bobcats’ coach Dave Shoupe said this title may have been the most satisfying. “The kids did a great job all year. The league

PROCTORVILLE — Chloe Bennett pitched a one-hitter as the Gallia Academy Blue Angels shut out the Fairland Lady Dragons 15-0 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Monday. Bennett struck out 7 and walked just one over her 5 innings. The Blue Angels (10-11, 5-6) had 15 hits with Bennett going 4-4 with an RBI, Maggie Davis was 2-3 with 2 RBI, Reggan Eubanks 2-4 with a double and 3 RBI and Kaylie Crisenbery 2-4 with an RBI to lead the offense. Maddie Schneider had the lone hit for

FLATWOODS, Ky. — “Ah, might as well jump. Go ahead and jump. Might as well jump. Go ahead and jump.” Russell Lady Red Devils’ coach Destiny Goins would like to see her young team follow Van Halen’s advice. Although the Lady Devils did jump, Goins wished it would have been quicker as they beat the Chesapeake Lady Panthers 7-2 on Saturday. “I think we could have jumped out a little earlier, maybe finished it a little bit earlier,” said Goins. Russell is now 8-16 on the season a

Postgame interview with South Point's Adyson Copley, Kota Copley and Kaylee Stidham. The three talk about their team's offensive approach, their defensive performance and looking ahead as the regular season winds down. FLATWOODS — Maybe 7 isn’t Kaylee Stidham’s lucky number, but it was definitely her number on Saturday. Stidham — who has caught fire offensively in recent weeks — slugged home run No.7 on the season as the South Point Lady Pointers blanked the Greenup County La

IRONTON — A pinch of this, a dash of that, a smidge of that, mix it up and you have a win. Ironton had a successful recipe on Friday as the Fighting Tigers blanked the Coal Grove Hornets 10-0 in a five-inning run rule Ohio Valley Conference win. Braydon Baker pitched a one-hitter and Ethan Sutton was 3-for-4 with 3 runs batted in to help spark the win. “A few kids made some great plays in the outfield, (Ethan) Sutton hit great and (Braydon) Baker pitched very well,” said Iron

PORTSMOUTH — One big inning proved to be big for the Symmes Valley Lady Vikings. The Lady Vikings used an 11-run second inning to fuel a 17-7 run rule win over the Portsmouth Lady Trojans in a recent non-league game. The Lady Vikings took a 3-0 lead in the first inning as Brenna TIbbs singled, Maci Bland doubled her home, and Marley Ferguson followed with a two-run home run. Natalie Simpson began the big second inning with a walk, Lydia Saunders singled, a wild pitch moved th

GALLIPOLIS — What started as a softball game turned into a marathon as the South Point Lady Pointers outlasted the Gallia Academy Blue Angels 7-5 in a 13 innings. Kota Copley pitched the complete game as she struck out a whopping 23 batters and threw 179 pitches, 127 for strikes. She gave up 9 hits, 5 runs, 4 earned runs, and walked only 4. South Point (15-6, 8-2) had 9 hits with Kaylee Stidham going 3-6 with an RBI, Kyleigh Castle 2-4 with an RBI, Adyson Copley 1-3 and Chloe

OAK HILL — It was the group Chicago that sang, “Feeling Stronger Every Day.” Barrett Waginger was feeling stronger every inning. After a shaky first inning, the St. Joseph Flyers’ freshman pitcher held the Oak Hill Oaks in check in a 6-1 win on Thursday. "We came out pretty flat at the start. But we managed to wake up around the third inning and get some runs to get some separation," said Flyers coach Nick Medinger. Waginger allowed just 4 hits as he gave up an earned run in

PORTSMOUTH — That’s a tie. Now we can think about being greedy. The Green Bobcats used the 3-hit pitching of Gabe Blevins to blank the Portsmouth Notre Dame Titans 7-0 on Thursday and clinch at least a share of the Southern Ohio Conference-1 title. "We woke our bats up tonight," Bobcats coach Dave Shoupe. We told the boys before the game that we needed to go back to the aggressive mentality we had at the beginning of the season and they listened. Green is 16-2 on the season a

PEDRO — “Last call getting’ kicked out Yeah that’s what I’m talking about Shuttin’ it down, shuttin’ it down.” Maybe Josh Gillespie happened to listen to Cole Swindell sing his song “Shuttin’ It Down.’ Gillespie was in a total shutdown mode on Wednesday as he fired a no-hitter to lead the Fairland Dragons to a 6-0 Ohio Valley Conference win over the Rock Hill Redmen. “I realized it in the fifth inning. I knew I was doing it and I was ready to go,” said Gillespie. “I didn’t ha

PROCTORVILLE — The Fairland Lady Dragons switched from their green and white cleats to a new shoe: hitting shoes. The Lady Dragons banged out 16 hits and beat the Huntington St. Joseph Lady Fighting Irish 13-3 in a five-inning run rule game on Tuesday. Fairland (2-14) was led at the plate by Aubrey Hayes who was 4-4 with 3 runs batted in, Maddie Cornwell who was 3-4 with a double and 3 BI, and Maddie Schneider who was 3-4 with two doubles and 3 RBI. Also getting hits for Fair

PEDRO — The Rock Hill Redwomen used a 16-hit attack to beat the Fairland Lady Dragons 10-5 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Wednesday. Rock Hill (6-11, 5-4) was led by pitcher Khloe Kline who went 3-3 at the plate and drove in 3 runs along with Ryleigh Boles who was 3-4. But there were plenty of other contributors as Bridgette Stapleton went 2-4 with a double and an RBI, Sami Bamer 2-4 with an RBI, Kylee Brooks 2-4, Aubrey Malone was 1-4 with a home run and 3 RBI, Alaina

ASHLAND, Ky — When is a loss not a loss Trick question. It’s always a loss. But despite losing 11-5 to the Ashland Tomcats on Tuesday, Ironton Fighting Tigers’ coach John Hunt saw a winning attitude. “Believe it or not, I was more pleased with today’s effort than I have been in some of our wins. The kids kept battling and played well,” said Hunt. Ashland (18-2) got single runs in each of the first two innings to lead 2-0. In the first, Brady Marushi led off with a home run. I