By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
Calhoun Reds join MOVBL Middle School Division
For years middle school aged youth in Calhoun County had no option for playing competitive baseball. But that has changed.
This year Calhoun County formed a team - the Calhoun Reds - and are playing in the tough Mid-Ohio Valley Baseball League Middle School Division.
The Red Devils, coached by former Gilmer County standout John Persinger, have 16 players and an 18-game regular season schedule and a playoff at the end of the year.
The teams begins play Sunday with a doubleheader at Clarksburg. The first game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
The team was the brainchild of Calhoun High School basketball coach Danny Bunch who noticed that players going into the high school baseball program had had to set out two years without any competition. That was because the youth league's age limit cut things off when players reached a certain age and that those players (usually middle school students) did not have the chance to play again until the were in high school.
It was a system that had a tendency to penalize the high school team since freshmen joining the program usually had to shake off the rust of two years of not playing along with trying to work into a program as a rank beginner.
The players will be getting experience on a relatively big stage since the MOVBL has several larger school represented including Parkersburg High School (two teams), Parkersburg South (two teams), Marietta, Ohio, and Clarksburg.
Teams in the league are Parkersburg Vipers Red, Parkersburg Vipers White, Parkersburg South Blue, Parkersburg South White, Marietta Orange, Parkersburg Catholic, Clarksburg, Bridgeport, Williamstown, St. Marys, Ritchie, Waterford, Ohio, and Calhoun.
Members of the team include Jerry Jones, Christopher Kirkland, Jordan Heiney, Seth Moore, Jordan Basnett, Allen Matheny, Eli Stump, Chris Thornton, Chandler Newell, Trevor Lynch, Kaleb Nicholas, Trenton Church, Ben Frederick, Caden Hicks, Soney Wilson and Austin Hicks.
Positions and the starting lineup are not set but will be by the end of spring practice.
The team is also in the process of raising money for uniforms and umpiring fees and will be doing several projects starting with a hot dog sale and car wash to be held at the Grantsville Foodland Saturday starting at 10 a.m.
The 2013 Schedule:
April 7 - at Clarksburg (DH)
April 10 - Bridgeport
April 14 - at St. Marys (DH)
April 18 - at Marietta
April 21 - Parkersburg Catholic (DH)
April 24 - Parkersburg Vipers White
April 28 - Parkersburg Vipers Red (DH)
May 2 - at Williamstown
May 5 - Parkersburg South Blue (DH)
May 9 - at Waterford
May 12 - Parkersburg South White (DH)
May 16 - at Ritchie
May 18-19 -- First Round Tournament site TBA
May 21 - Tournament quarterfinals site TBA
May 23 - Tournament semifinals at Hank Greenberg Field Parkersburg
May 28 - Championship and consolation games at Hank Greenberg Field Parkersburg
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