MORRISON: Reds have sped up their rebuilding process

July 15, 2023

For this die-hard Cincinnati Reds fan of nearly 50 years, the 2022 season was just about as brutal of a season as I can remember. First off a labor dispute delayed the season and the offseason and the minute the dispute was settled and things were back to normal, the Reds continued a rebuild that had started the previous season by trading popular players such as Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez before the season began. Some ill-advised comments by the son of Reds owner Bob Castellini on opening day added to the frustration as did the fact the 2022 Reds began the season ...

HOLLAND: Reds doing their best Etta Express impression

June 23, 2023

Entering the 2023 NCAA Division III Super Regionals against visiting Misericordia, Marietta College baseball coach Brian Brewer noted that the Cougars played a similar style of baseball as the Pioneers. “They bunt, steal and try to wreak a lot of havoc on the bases, which we try to do as ...

BENNETT: Bye bye to the 1-and-1

June 8, 2023

The final three days of last week were pretty crazy on several levels. Thursday was an extremely long one due to the all-state baseball meeting and covering Tyler Consolidated’s first game at the state tournament. On Friday, I had the honor of taking in another Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis Football Classic game at St. Marys. At one point prior to kickoff, I was having a conversation with someone and they told me how they always enjoyed my columns when I would write about summer vacation. I don’t have any exploits for vacation yet, but I was able to take this past Saturday ...

Cadets’ Dawson Layton cherishing senior season success

April 13, 2023

BEVERLY — The Fort Frye baseball team is off to an 11-1 start this spring, and nobody is enjoying the Cadets’ success more than senior Dawson Layton. Layton, who earned the pitching win in Fort Frye’s 6-3 win over Williamstown Friday, is in his third year on the Cadets’ varsity ...

PATRICK: The Perfect Storm

February 28, 2023

Something strange in the air Saturday. High school basketball for Ohio teams in the Mid-Ohio Valley felt it. Marietta College felt it. I felt it. Seven teams seeking to advance in a postseason setting. Throw in a couple of amazing finishes on the national scene and you have the perfect storm. Noon: Checked in on a nationally-televised college men’s game featuring a school from hometown area of Iowa City, Iowa. Michigan State at Iowa. Iowa falls behind by 13 with less than two minutes in regulation. Announcers basically calling it in and referring to the next game for both ...

Local teams await action-packed Saturday

February 25, 2023

Saturday is shaping up to be one of the busiest days in recent memory as far as local sports are concerned. Five Washington County high school basketball teams will be looking to cut down nets, both Marietta College hoops squads are hoping to pull off upsets while area wrestlers are set to begin sectional tournament competition. Starting with girls basketball, Fort Frye and Waterford both are one win away from reaching the Sweet 16 in their respective divisions. The Cadets will take on Union Local at 1 p.m. at Zanesville High School in a Division III East District championship, ...