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Division IV Team Of The Week: Reedsville Eastern

REEDSVILLE - Who said experience is the key to success?

That has certainly not been true for Reedsville Eastern, the Ohio Prep Baseball Report Division IV Team of the Week.

“We’ve exceeded expectations,” admitted Eastern head coach Brian Bowen, who returned just two starters, one playing a new position, from a year ago when the Eagles reached the regional finals before losing to Whiteoak 5-4 to finish 27-3.

That loss was avenged on Friday when the undefeated fifth-ranked Division IV team in the state handed Whiteoak its third loss in 22 games this year.

“We have a tremendous attitude and work ethic and they’re very coachable,” Bowen said of his team, which clinched a share of the Tri-Valley Conference championship on Monday with a win over Southern. The Eagles also own a pair of wins over Wahama, a 20-4 team rated 23rd in the state of West Virginia.

“We’ve played with more consistency than expected,” Bowen pointed out. “A lot of it is our attitude in practice which accelerates the learning process. Usually there are ups and downs with inconsistencies but we’ve done well in all three phases, pitching, defense and offense. On different nights it’s different things. When we have bad hitting, our pitching and defense is good. If our pitching is not as good, we hit the ball well.”

Matthew Blanchard, the number four pitcher on Eastern as a freshman, has led the way on the mound throwing 50 innings to date. The right-handed sophomore is 9-0 with a 2.38 ERA and 59 strikeouts. Junior righty Colton Reynolds is the number two, totaling 27 innings with 43 Ks and a 3-0 record with a 1.79 ERA.

Freshman Braden Smith has worked 18 innings, fanning 16 with a 2.38 ERA.

“They’re all smart pitchers that understand how to find holes in the swings and have the ability to throw multiple pitches,” Bowen said. “They’re not overpowering, but their fastball is just fast enough and they work smart with good control.

“Early in the season our offense carried us and our defense also helped,” Bowen continued. “We did a good job at the plate and also running bases.”

It is part of what the Eastern program is all about.

“We focus a lot on fundamentals,” the 19th-year head coach said. “We play solid defense and don’t commit a lot of errors. I can’t remember the last throwing error we had.

“Our pitchers are smart and they understand the game. We like to be aggressive and will play small ball. We have good team speed, too. Eight of the nine kids can run well so we try to take advantage of that.”

Three players are hitting .500 in the 16-0 start to the season.

Blanchard, the three-hole hitter, is at .500 along with two-hole batter Isaiah Fish and cleanup hitter Nate Durst. Blanchard plays catcher or short when not pitching while Fish is at first base and Durst third base.

“The key for us is keeping the kids hungry,” noted Bowen, whose team has West Holmes, Trimble and Logan on tap this week. “Our goal every year is to reach our potential. Some years that’s a sectional title, some years a league title, some years a district title. Sometimes when you win a league title you’ve accomplished something and it’s harder to stay focused. That can be a challenge. Now that we’ve clinched a share, we need to keep working and stay hungry to get better.”