Huntington outlasts Westfall in pitcher's duel
WILLIAMSPORT − There are few things Dalton Black needs to succeed while he's on the mound for Huntington. Trust, however, is one of the biggest factors to his success.
The senior places his confidence in many aspects of his game before he takes the field. He trusts his pregame routine, he trusts his teammates to help him out of tight spots and he trusts Huntington coach Ed Yates to guide him through an outing.
That trust was well-placed Monday. Black, guided by Yates and aided by his teammates, pitched seven shutout innings to lead Huntington to a 1-0 win over Westfall at Westfall High School.
"Coach Yates calls the best pitch he knows, so I trust in him and he trusts me," Black said. "I believe that he wants that pitch, I throw it and it worked."
For seven innings, Black was near untouchable. He struck out six of the Mustangs during his time on the mound and allowed just six hits in that span. Black sent the Mustangs down in order in the first two frames, and he never allowed more than two hits in any given inning.
He was also working at an advantage. Huntington took the lead after Braylon Leach hit a triple in the first at-bat of the game and later scored on a passed ball. Black used that lead to steady himself on the mound, and he and the Huntsmen sent the Mustangs down one-by-one.
"As a leadoff guy, (Braylon is) a tough outlet to be in the lineup," Yates said. "He hit that leadoff triple, which is really really nice to get because then you're going to try to find some way to score. And if you score one in the first, you don't know that's going to be the only run, but that was a very, very valuable hit and score there."
Westfall attempted to come back multiple times. It put runners in scoring position in two separate innings and threatened the already slim lead held by Huntington. But Black didn't falter. He rarely gets flustered on the mound, due in part to the trust he places in his teammates.
Time and time again, that trust came in handy. Huntington got out of both jams with little issue, and it retained its one-run lead for the remainder of the game.
"I always take a big, giant, deep breath," Black said. "I've got people behind me that are going to pick me up. They've got me, no matter what. Ryan (Porter) made huge plays today, that helped us out. I just breathe, and I know they got my back."
Still, Huntington navigated Monday with a thin margin for error. Westfall starter Noah Stonerock matched Black inning-for-inning, recording his own complete game and holding Huntington to just one run. He struck out eight batters during his time on the mound, and he only allowed five hits. Even after taking a line drive to his foot in the fifth inning, Stonerock closed the game out and kept Huntington pinned down.
But that first-inning run was all Huntington needed. Westfall never found a rhythm against Black while at the plate. It attempted one final push in the seventh inning. Clay Ellis singled to lead the inning off, and two quick outs sent leadoff hitter Trent Walters to the plate.
Walters was the only Mustangs to notch more than one hit on Monday. He'd been the one to push the Mustangs into scoring position after singling in the third inning and doubling in the fifth. But those were the only two hits Walters managed. He flew out to center field in the bottom of the seventh to notch the final out, and Huntington locked down its slim, albeit solid Scioto Valley Conference victory.
"We didn't have some good at-bats, but I wanted Trent to get up to the plate," Westfall coach Todd Rhymer said. "That was my goal, was to get to the top of the order, and once we got to the top of the order then I thought we could get something going. Trent and Brendan (Tuttle) have had some good at-bats, we had runners in scoring position all game and just didn't come up with a big hit when we needed it."
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Huntington outlasts Westfall in pitcher's duel
