DANVILLE — Speed and pitching are a great start for a baseball team, and Danville flashed both on Tuesday night.
The Blue Devils rode the arm of Nolan Ridgeway to an 8-0 Knox Morrow Athletic Conference victory over visiting Loudonville.
Danville manager Zack Melton said an early lead propelled his team to the lopsided victory.
“We started off hot, and we really attacked them on defense,” Melton said. “Nolan threw strikes early and often, not having to pitch around anyone.
“He is one of my main pitchers. He is either my one or two right now, it depends on the day.”
Danville centerfielder Cy Wallace handled the speed aspect, drilling an early single and capitalizing on three Loudonville errors to circle the bases for a 4-0 advantage.
Melton was pleased with his team’s offense, too.
“Our bats came alive early then midway through they cooled off and we didn’t make the adjustments that we needed to. But we got out in front big enough that we just coasted to the win,” he said.
“We get to the ball very quickly, we get to a lot of hits that many people could not reach. Of course, that helps us on the base paths, too.”
The Blue Devils have the right attitude to keep improving, their skipper stated.
“We are eager to learn the game right now,” the coach observed. “We are young, I’m not saying inexperienced, but we are young and eager to learn the game.”
The Blue Devils improved to 4-7 overall, 2-5 in the KMAC. The Redbirds fell to 2-10, 0-7.
“Our record doesn’t tell the whole story,” Melton said. “We saw some great pitching in the KMAC early, starting with Centerburg and then going to Mount Glead as well.
“We’re starting to get into a rhythm right now and hopefully we are able to just progress and get better every day.”
The Blue Devils will have little time to savor their victory as they travel to Loudonville on Wednesday (tonight) for a rematch with the Redbirds.
