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Ravenswood ready for states

Red Devils enter final weekend as number 3 seed

Photo by Jay W. Bennett Ravenswood’s Blake Bennett, left, and Chase Swain go through some stretching exercises prior to Wednesday’s baseball practice. The Red Devils, who have the No. 3 seed, will take on second-seeded Wheeling Central around 8 p.m. on Friday in the Class A state semifinals at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston.

RAVENSWOOD — With 34 games in the books for Ravenswood High School baseball skipper Wes Swain, the biggest test for his Red Devils to date will come around 8 p.m. on Friday in the Class A state semifinals against Wheeling Central at Appalachian Power Park.

The Little Kanawha Conference champion Red Devils carry a 24-10 record into the final weekend of the season and earned the No. 3 seed. Second-seeded Wheeling Central sports a 23-4 mark. Top-seeded Charleston Catholic (25-12), which defeated Ravenswood 8-2 in last year’s state title game, squares off against fourth-seeded Moorefield (21-9) at 5 p.m. Friday.

“The last three weeks we’ve really coached hard just to get back,” admitted Swain, who is likely to hand the ball to senior hurler Ethan Mahan. “The kids have to go down and play. There isn’t anything magical we can do.

“Now, we just need to get them hitting and tidy up on a few things. The kids have to play the game. If they play the game and not the team, I think they are going to be OK.”

The Maroon Knights, who own a 9-5 neutral site win versus the Red Devils back in mid-April, are likely to start Doug Clark. The lefty is 7-0 with a 1.25 ERA and has 62 punchouts in 52 innings of work. Central also boasts another solid lefty in George Cupp, who is 5-1 with a 1.90 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 46 frames.

“We are figuring we are going to see Clark. He’s their best guy,” Swain stated. “When we saw them earlier this spring, we saw Cupp. Clark didn’t play at all. He had a concussion. Everything that I know about him (Clark), he likes to pitch outside and he’s got command of all three of his pitches and he’s sneaky fast.”

Ravenswood has a wealth of veteran experience.

Obviously, the biggest key for the Red Devils is to take things pitch by pitch.

“We started off rough, but we turned it around,” said senior Chase Swain. “I’ve played with these guys all the way up and it makes it even better. We just need to focus on one more game and after that, time will tell.

“The past two years in basketball and baseball we’ve been to the state championship, but this year, hopefully we get it. We just got to make plays and play as hard as we can.”

The Jackson County program, which is making its seventh trip to the state tournament and seeking its second state crown and first since winning it all in Class AA back in 1999, will have one more practice today before enjoying a team cookout this evening.

“We’re feeling good,” admitted Red Devil leadoff hitter Blake Bennett, who paces the team with 21 doubles and 12 stolen bases. “We’re just happy to get back because we know it’s hard to get back and we’ve had a target on our backs.

“Our mindset is good. We are going down there to win the thing. We’re just not happy with one win like we did last year.”

Chase Swain, Bennett, Stephen Dawson and Lakin Tucker, who went 3 for 3 and drove in three runs during the Red Devils’ regional-clinching triumph versus Huntington St. Joe, were key members on the RHS state runner-up basketball team, which lost to Wheeling Central.

Of course, this might be a different sport, but there is never any need for extra motivation when it comes to playing the Maroon Knights in anything.

“There’s always a little more energy in these games,” Bennett added. “The Wheeling Central, Ravenswood games, there is always a little more energy. We’re just going in like it’s another game.

“It’s (the season) been pretty difficult because we’ve gotten everybody’s best shot, basically, all season. It’s been pretty hard playing all these teams. It’s a great accomplishment making it and we want to do big things down there this year.”

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Ravenswood Red Devils Inside the Numbers

PITCHING

Ethan Mahan (5-1) 44 IP, 46 Ks, 4.77 ERA

Chase Swain (6-3) 52.1 IP, 66 Ks, 2.94 ERA

Lakin Tucker (6-3) 39.1 IP, 45 Ks, 3.74 ERA

Stephen Dawson (4-3) 30 IP, 27 Ks, 3.39 ERA

HITTING

Blake Bennett .458 AVG, 21 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 33 RBIs

Lakin Tucker .387 AVG, 7 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 37 RBIs

Chase Swain .554 AVG, 15 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 53 RBIs

Andrew Anglin .340 AVG, 5 2B, 15 RBIs, .488 OBP

Ciah Kennedy .338 AVG, 9 2B, 19 RBIs, .551 OBP

Stephen Dawson .388 AVG, 11 2B, 3 HR, 32 RBIs

Luke Miller .344 AVG, 9 2B, 1 HR, 24 RBIs

Jake Greene .371 AVG, 12 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 37 RBIs

Ethan Mahan .257 AVG, 4 2B, 12 RBIs

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