High School Baseball: Power rankings for Chillicothe-area teams following Week 7

CHILLICOTHE — The transition from the high school baseball regular season to playoff time is on the horizon.

Over the next few days, area teams will wrap up the final games on their schedule and shift their focus toward the statewide tournament, set to begin this weekend. Piketon has strung together four wins in a row toward the end of its season. Huntington picked up its second win over Unioto this season last Friday, and Chillicothe stuck out a win over Westfall in a nonconference showdown.

With the state tournament set to begin, it's time to see how every area team stacks up against one another for a final time. Here are this season's final edition of power rankings for all 10 Chillicothe-area baseball teams.

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10. Adena Warriors (7-16, 4-10 Scioto Valley Conference)

The Warriors have struggled to break out of their late-season losing streak and have been held to two runs or fewer in their last five games. The past two weeks have been a hard road for Adena to travel, but it still has a guaranteed game against No. 8-seeded Ironton remaining to make some noise in the playoffs.

9. Westfall Mustangs (8-13, 4-10 SVC)

May has been kinder to the Mustangs compared to their April slate. Saturday got them another two wins after sweeping a doubleheader against Madison Plains and Madison Christian. They only allowed one run between both games and even their loss to Chillicothe was a close game. A final regular season matchup with Circleville will further test the waters.

8. Piketon Redstreaks (12-14, 4-10 SVC)

Three wins this week bumps the Redstreaks up to a four-game winning streak and shy of a .500 record. A win in their final game against North Adams won't get them all the way there, but it will fuel their late momentum swing ahead of a matchup with Fairfield Union in the sectional semifinals. Finally, things seem to be falling in the Redstreaks' favor.

7. Chillicothe Cavaliers (8-17, 4-6 Frontier Athletic Conference)

Despite a close loss to Fairfield Union on Friday, the Cavaliers have rebounded a bit and are showing some promise heading into the weekend. A 14-3 win over Vinton County on Monday was their largest margin of victory this year and their second win after scoring more than 10 runs. A close win over Westfall also builds a bit of confidence as the Cavaliers stare down the Division I playoffs.

6. Paint Valley Bearcats (11-12, 4-10 SVC)

The regular season might be over for the Bearcats, but they ended it as well as they could after hanging a 17-1 win on Western on Thursday. Carson Free, Jase Rinehart and Gavin Kingery especially showed up in that win. Funny enough, the two teams will face off again in the Division IV sectional semifinals. Perhaps it might've been foreshadowing.

5. Southeastern Panthers (12-11, 6-8 SVC)

A bit of respite for the Panthers after a daunting start to May, they have one final regular season hurdle to clear before they can get down to business in the playoffs. Northwest has struggled outside of conference play and is 0-3 against other SVC teams like Zane Trace and Piketon. Friday might be a good test for the Panthers.

4. Waverly Tigers (15-7, 4-3 Southern Ohio Conference III)

Rain can't keep the Tigers off the field forever. It doesn't seem to make them rusty either, if their 11-0 win over Wellston on Wednesday was any indication. Their offense was doing all the right things and buried the Golden Rockets as Creed Smith went on to break the single season record with 31 stolen bases after picking up a pair Wednesday.

3. Unioto Shermans (20-4, 11-3 SVC)

After the loss to Huntington on Friday, the Shermans got right back on track with wins over Circleville and Valley. Ashton Crace had his third game with more than 10 strikeouts against Circleville, which is another testament to the true strength of Unioto's rotation. That, among other factors, can take them far in the tournament.

2. Huntington Huntsmen (16-6, 11-3 SVC)

Two big wins have propelled the Huntsmen to a good position as the tournament draws closer. First, their win over Unioto ensured them a tie for second place in the SVC standings. Their 10-0 win over McClain five days later allowed the lineup to stay fresh before a few key tests against Circleville and Wellston to close out the regular season.

1. Zane Trace Pioneers (19-5, 12-2 SVC)

Ezra Rippeth came up big in relief for the Pioneers in their 4-2 win over Logan on Monday after stranding a pair of runners and preventing a potential tie. Piled on from a stellar start from Josh Young, the Pioneers earned a solid win. Their game against Wheelersburg on Wednesday served as an important reference ahead of the playoffs, seeing as the Pirates are the No. 1 seed and the Pioneers are No. 2.

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: High School Baseball: Week 7 power rankings for Chillicothe-area teams