Big Red baseball shines in field’s debut
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STEUBENVILLE -- Saturday was worth the wait for the Big Red baseball team.
The sun came out after a morning of rain, and Fred Heatherington's club shined just as bright in the debut of the brand new Crimson Complex.
Cooper and Nolan Blackburn combined to strike out nine and a couple of key hits got the offense going as Big Red picked up a 9-1 season-opening victory over visiting Weir High.
"It's a beautiful place," Heatherington, who started his 34th year at the helm, said. "Our administration did a great job.
"The best thing about it was we didn't have to work on the field to be able to play, we didn't have to spend five hours dragging the field and getting water off it. That's what makes this place so nice.
"The kids played well. They adapted and played well. It's game one, but it's a win and that's what we wanted. Our kids were ready to play, it's been a long offseason and our kids were ready to play and played well."
Cooper Blackburn, the senior who had a strong tournament on the mound last spring, seemed to pick up right where he left off striking out the side in the first inning and finished with five punchouts in three innings, allowing only an unearned run.
Nolan Blackburn, a freshmen making his varsity debut, went the final four innings, fanning four without issuing a walk.
"They both threw well," Heatherington said. "Cooper threw well and Nolan came in and picked up right where he left off."
Big Red jumped ahead early, taking a 3-0 lead in the first when Hakim Edwards drove in a run with an RBI grounout, then Lee Sewell tripled in two more runs.
Lucas McAllister singled in a run in the second, then, after the Red Riders (0-4) got on the board, a Cooper Blackburn RBI double and a Bubby Reese sac fly in the third pushed the lead to 7-1.
Aydan Manning singled in a run and Cooper Blackburn plated another to provide the final margin in the fifth.
"We hit the ball and ran the bases well," Heatherington said.
For Weir High, some missed opportunities and lack of execution were costly, as they have been thus far for the young group.
"We're a young, inexperienced team and right now we're not doing the little things," Weir High head coach Dave Cowden said. "In the key situations we're either giving up the big hit or not getting the big hit or making a mental mistake. We've got to get better.
"It was their first game out, Big Red hit the ball well. The end result is a combination of all of the above."
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Big Red 9, Weir High 1
Weir High 0-0-1 0-0-0 0 -- 1 4 2
Big Red 3-1-3 0-2-0 x -- 9 8 2
WEIR HIGH (0-4): Weber (LP, 3IP, 7R, 6ER, 6H, 1K, 2BB, 1 HBP), McAllister (2IP, 2R, 2ER, 1H, 1K, 1BB, 1HBP), Braswell (1IP, 0R, 1H, 1K, 1BB) and Wells. Lucas 2D, Braswell S, Spencer S.
BIG RED (1-0): C. Blackburn (WP, 3IP, 1R, 0ER, 2H, 5K, 1BB, 2HBP), N. Blackburn (SV, 4IP, 0R, 2H, 4K, 0BB) and Smith. McAllister 2S, RBI; Manning 2S, RBI; C. Blackburn D, 2RBI; Edwards RBI; Reese S, RBI; N. Blackburn S.