10 to Comprehend: Flashing Leather

From the time I was nine years old, playing for Napa Auto Parts in the Chillicothe Youth Baseball League until I had graduated, fresh out of a Chillicothe High School baseball uniform, my dad had preached one thing to me: let your glove do the talking.

While his lesson was aimed towards sportsmanship on the field, I took his words literally and would spend hours in our front yard tossing the baseball with my sister, making sure that with every catch, my throwing hand was attached to my glove — just in case the ball decided to slide out.

This week's '10 to Comprehend' focuses on the area's players who probably spent the same amount of time in their own front yards practicing that familiar adage of letting their gloves do the talking.

•The success of any team starts with the battery. Clay Edler, the back end of Unioto's battery, is a big reason why the Shermans are 5-1 inside SVC play. The sophomore catcher has been a brick wall throughout the start of the season for the Tanks and is just starting to heat up with his bat. With a limited amount of passed balls, Edler has quickly become one of the best defensive catchers in the conference. The scary part is, he's got two years left to develop after this one.

•Freshman Audrey Corzine is used to playing baseball so no wonder she's seeing beach balls on the softball field. When she's not hitting — Corzine owns a .333 average — she's fielding, and she boy can she do both well. With a good amount of range, the freshman phenom has picked the pocket of multiple hitters while being a strong point in Chillicothe coach Bud Lytle's infield. Much like Edler, this is only the beginning for Corzine. I'll practice typing her name because God knows you'll be reading it multiple times in the future.

•At his shortstop position, Adena's Andrew Woods is as smooth as a baby's bottom. Woods makes fielding ground balls look so easy a caveman could do it. And to go on top of an exceptional glove, he fires rockets to his first baseman. After seeing Woods in action multiple times this year, I'm not sure there is a better defensive shortstop in the area. If you're keeping track at home, pencil Woods' name into a possible gold glove nomination in the Gazette's 2015 Spring Sports Awards.

•Piketon's third baseman Faith Pack has all of the tools necessary to play well on the hot corner. The junior can do it all including charging a bunt, picking a hard hit ground ball out of the dirt and could probably sing the National Anthem if called upon to do so. The icing on the cake for the Redstreaks is that Pack also has a strong arm in her repertoire. In an 8-1 win over Unioto this past week, Pack showed range, skill and patience in her corner. And when those tools paid off, she threw lasers to throw runners out at first. Well done.

•Anthony McFadden does a little bit of everything. He can throw a perfect spiral on the football field, hit a clutch three pointer on the basketball court and serve as the captain of the infield on the baseball diamond. The Paint Valley' quarterback/point guard/shortstop has proven this season that he's the real deal at his shortstop position. A magician with his glove, his fireball throws over to first should have a sticker attached stating "caution: do not touch, hot surface." The Bearcats will go as McFadden goes and their 9-2 record illustrates that perfectly at this point.

•Former SVC Player of the Year Gina Wright has lived up to her reputation this season in center field. If opponents don't get the hint by now, here's some advice: if you hit the ball anywhere near Wright's location, you'll be quickly heading back to the dugout with nothing but a dip in your batting average. Wright is like a Hoover vacuum for her Tanks. Whether it's a cold, a fish, a breath or a softball; Wright can catch it.

• Senior Spotlight: Speaking of great glove work, Southeastern's Alec Pinkerton comes to mind. The center fielder and second baseman has been on my mind since Wednesday morning. Pinkerton is going through a lot right now but his attitude and outlook is so uplifting and positive. The young man is a model athlete and someone that kids his age should strive to be like. My job has a lot of perks but there's none bigger than getting to know some of the area's athletes personally and Pinkerton is one that I'm still in awe of. Look out for more on his uplifting story in next week's Saturday and Sunday edition of the Gazette.

• Performance of the Week: For me, this one is a no-brainer. I witnessed excellence Friday night while watching Adena freshman J.D. Blevins mow down Paint Valley's lineup from top to bottom. In a 4-2 win over the Bearcats, Blevins threw six superb innings, earning his third victory of the season. In those six innings, the freshman gave up just four hits, allowed just two runs and struck out nine. If that's a sign of things to come, opposing teams beware.

• SVC Baseball Player of the Year Watch: Jonathan Thomas of Adena is still the leader in my mind. Paint Valley's Teagan McFadden leap frogs Piketon's Ethan Fremder to take the second spot while Paint Valley's Mason McCloy drops out of the top three for now.

• SVC Softball Player of the Year Watch: With Morgan Geno's injury — my best wishes go out to her — the number one spot opens up for Piketon's Adrien Dunn to take. After Dunn comes Unioto's Brooke Blevins and Paint Valley's Mikayla Newland, who leads the area with 100+ strikeouts.

NOTE: Look for the area's statistical leaders in Tuesday's edition of the Chillicothe Gazette or at chillicothegazette.com, Monday night.

Derrick Webb is a Gazette sportswriter and can be reached at dwebb@chillicothegazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @dw1509.

Power Rankings

• Baseball: Adena (9-1), Paint Valley (8-2), Piketon (4-6), Zane Trace (5-6), Waverly (8-6), Unioto (5-5), Chillicothe (3-6), Southeastern (2-6), Westfall (5-8) and Huntington (5-6)

• Softball: Westfall (8-4), Piketon (6-1), Unioto (6-2), Zane Trace (5-5), Waverly (4-0), Adena (4-2), Huntington (5-5), Paint Valley (2-7), Chillicothe (2-10) and Southeastern (1-7)