High School Baseball: Power rankings for Chillicothe-area teams after week five of season

CHILLICOTHE — It seems only yesterday that area baseball teams had delved into their conference slates. Now, with April heading out the door and May just around the corner, the 2024 season is almost at an end.

Zane Trace, still untouched in the Scioto Valley Conference, is on the cusp of locking up a conference title. Unioto and Huntington are both still on the edge of the race. With playoffs on the horizon, area high school baseball teams are all looking to make a splash before the regular season ends.

With another week in the books, it's time to see how every team in the area stacks up to one another. Here are the latest iteration of power rankings for all 10 area high school baseball teams after the fifth week of action.

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10. Piketon Redstreaks (6-13, 2-9 Scioto Valley Conference)

Aside from cruising to a 7-1 win over Westfall last Thursday, Piketon has had a rough week balancing matchups with Southeastern, Huntington and Unioto. It fought Wellston through 24 combined runs on Saturday, but fell short despite the offense showing up once again. Still, the Redstreaks have got time to rebound, and they've got the potential to do so.

9. Chillicothe Cavaliers (6-10, 4-4 Frontier Athletic Conference)

Just shy of an upset win over Waverly last Thursday, the Cavaliers are fresh off splitting a series with McClain. An 11-3 win brings a bit of a morale boost, even if McClain took the next game by two runs. There's a chance for the Cavaliers to rebound again, however. They get a second round with Logan, which they beat 5-2 last week, on Friday before they take on Jackson next week.

8. Westfall Mustangs (4-9, 2-8 Scioto Valley Conference)

There's still a bit of ebb and flow to the Mustangs. They traded losses with Piketon — they won the rematch 16-8 Wednesday — and gave Paint Valley a run for its money on Monday. The win over Piketon, when they scored their most runs in a game all year, is bound to give the Mustangs a bit of a boost. The lineup got to show off a bit, and they propped themselves in regards to the standings.

7. Adena Warriors (6-10, 3-7 Scioto Valley Conference)

Perhaps the biggest sting from the Warriors' three losses this week came in their 6-4 loss to Paint Valley on Wednesday. Above all else, the Warriors kept it close but were just slowed enough by Owen Donahue on the mound. Still, Austin Magill is playing as well as ever on the mound following his two-hitter against Southeastern last Friday.

6. Southeastern Panthers (9-8, 5-6 Scioto Valley Conference)

Dropping two games in a row isn't fun, especially late in the year, but the Panthers can be excused. Their latest two losses came against Unioto and Zane Trace, who've both throttled the rest of the league all season. Still, the Panthers picked up a win over Piketon last Friday, one in which pitcher Carson McWhorter racked up his second-most strikeouts in a game this year.

5. Paint Valley Bearcats (9-9, 4-7 Scioto Valley Conference)

Paint Valley and Southeastern have been in a constant tug-of-war this year, but the Bearcats take the edge this week thanks to wins over Adena and Westfall this week. The win over the Mustangs was especially impressive, considering the Bearcats were shut out through five innings. A couple wins sets the Bearcats up for a big lineup next week against Huntington and Zane Trace.

4. Waverly Tigers (11-7, 3-3 Southern Ohio Conference III)

The Tigers ended last week on solid footing after a close win over Chillicothe and a 13-0 blowout of Western, but SOC III play this week stalled them out a bit. There's still time to recover, though. No doubt the Tigers are looking for revenge in their rematch with Minford on Monday, as well as a bout with perennial area powerhouse Jackson well into their May schedule.

3. Huntington Huntsmen (11-5, 7-3 Scioto Valley Conference)

Give the Huntsmen a bit of credit, the only break they've had over the past two weeks has been the weekend. So far, they've played every single weekday over the past 10 days. That's bound to wear down most teams. Still, the Huntsmen have made the best of their arduous schedule despite falling to Zane Trace on Wednesday and McClain last Thursday, going 5-2 in that span.

2. Unioto Shermans (13-2, 8-2 Scioto Valley Conference)

Three shutout wins over conference opponents is par for the course for the Shermans by this point. Maverick Frump's been a menace on the mound as of late, and he's responsible for two of those wins in the past week. Everything's going right for the Shermans, and they have a chance to knock off the still undefeated Zane Trace in a major SVC tilt on Friday.

1. Zane Trace Pioneers (16-2, 11-0 Scioto Valley Conference)

Not much is left for the Pioneers to do before they have the SVC title under lock and key. Eleven straight wins, and each one more dominant than the last. Josh Young and Dillon Hoover have each picked up their sixth wins on the mound, and Young is even toting a cool 1.59 ERA through his seven starts. Hoover, meanwhile, has struck out 45 batters along the way.

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