Big third inning keeps Philo's win streak alive

DUNCAN FALLS — The season did not start as Philo expected with four straight losses.

But, the Electrics have rebounded nicely, winning their third straight game after a convincing 12-3 victory over visiting Zanesville on Friday.

A 9-run third inning fueled by seven hits and four Blue Devils errors proved to be the difference.

Senior A.J. Harper, who had two hits and two RBIs, credited an aggressive approach at the plate to help spark the Philo offense, which has scored 27 runs during the three-game winning streak.

The Electrics took a 3-4 record into Saturday's game at Utica.

"We came into the season expecting to win a bunch of games with nine seniors, but we didn't start the season well," Harper said. "Our coaches stayed on us and told us to be aggressive, looking for that first pitch strike. After going through the lineup once against (Zanesville's Caleb Underwood), we knew what to expect. We stayed aggressive and it worked out."

Zanesville (1-6) scored single tallies in the first three innings to build a 3-1 lead. Preston Moorehead came home on Underwood's groundout in the first inning, and Riley Needles hit a two-out single to score Mahki Murray for a 2-0 lead in the second.

Slade Glaub's two-out RBI single plated Talon Preston in the bottom of the second for the Electrics, but Canon Mercer's double brought home Moorehead for a two-run cushion.

It was all Philo in the home half of the third. Case Fink reached on a one-out error, stole second and moved to third on another error before scoring on Cade Searls' single that cut the Zanesville lead to 3-2.

After a Griffin Wells single and a Preston walk, Searls scored on a passed ball then Jacob Howell singled home Wells to put the Electrics up 4-3.

Harper followed with another RBI single then came home on a sac fly by Glaub to make it 6-3.

After Jack Lincicome singled to keep the inning going, Garrett Tom's single plated Harper. Fink followed with a groundball, and a Zanesville error on that play allowed two runs to come home. Wells capped the 9-run frame with a RBI single.

The Electrics finished with 11 hits, as all nine starters had at least one hit. Tom had two singles and scored twice, Wells added a pair of singles, Preston scored three runs and Glaub brought home two runs to highlight the effort.

Philo coach Hunter Smith has seen a different team this week. He said last week there were too many swings and misses to go with subpar defense, but the senior-laden group has turned it around this week.

"We weren't putting the ball in play, and we were striking out too much," Smith said. "Everything starts with the top of our order. They've been getting on base, and that trickles down to the bottom of the order. Hitting is contagious, and we saw that in the third.

"We've also been playing solid defense and making the routine plays. We weren't doing that in the first week," he added.

Lincicome earned the victory on the mound, allowing two runs on five hits with six strikeouts and three walks in five innings. Preston scattered four hits, struck out three and walked two in two scoreless innings of relief.

Smith said pitching depth also has him optimistic. His top three starters, Seth Vousden, Clayton Peterson and Searls, are seniors, while Lincicome provides another arm when needed.

"Jack has potential, and that's why he's with us," Smith remarked. "Our pitching has been good in nearly every game so far. Our top three guys have been through it, and they give us a chance each time out."

Underwood suffered the loss, giving up 11 runs, five earned, on nine hits with four walks and two strikeouts in five innings, while Mercer collected three hits and Moorehead had two hits and two runs scored for the Blue Devil offense.

bhannahs@gannett.com; @brandonhannahs

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Big third inning keeps Philo's win streak alive