DANVILLE — The Blue Devils are tearing the cover off the ball this spring.
Danville is alone atop the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference standings thanks in no small part to an everyday lineup that has terrorized opponents this spring. The Blue Devils (12-0, 5-0) were hitting a jaw-dropping .456 as a team entering the week and banged out 16 more hits in Wednesday’s 13-3 win over Northmor.
Maddy Payne led the charge against the Golden Knights, going 4-for-4 with a home run and three doubles. She drove in three.
Addison Mickley was hitting .553 heading into this week’s action, while Alicia Humphrey was batting .543 with a league-leading 10 doubles. Ruby Bartok has clubbed a conference-high four home runs, while Abi Sapp ranked second in the KMAC with 20 runs batted in.
The pitching staff has help up its end of the bargain, too.
Addy Bocock ran her record to 8-0 with a 5-0 win over Centerburg on Monday. She gave up one hit and struck out 10. Bocock has 80 strikeouts and a 1.00 earned run average in 49 innings of work.
Fredericktown (8-3, 5-1) is just a game back of Danville in the loss column. The Freddies boast two of the top three hitters in the KMAC in Jazzy Wittman (.629) and Aubree Whitley (.581).
Centerburg (7-5, 5-2) is still in the hunt despite a pair or losses to Danville. Abby Herren is doing it all for the Trojans. She’s hitting .556 with 15 RBIs and 11 extra-base hits. In the circle, she ranks among KMAC leaders with a 1.66 ERA.
Licking County League
Mount Vernon improved to 9-2 overall and 4-2 in the Licking County League after Wednesday’s 11-1 win over Newark Catholic. The Yellow Jackets won five Ohio Cardinal Conference titles before joining the LCL this year.
Hailey Rudrick has belted six home runs already this spring, while Jocelyn Scarbury has five homers. Rudrick was the OCC Player of the Year last year.
Carly Kennedy is batting a team-best .536, while Keely Pollard has driven in 22.