MADISON TOWNSHIP — Even without his best stuff, Madison’s Bo Curvin is still pretty good.
A senior right-hander and four year letterman, Curvin limited Mansfield Senior to one hit in a run rule-shortened 12-1 win in the Ohio Cardinal Conference opener for both teams at Madison on a blustery Tuesday afternoon.
The Rams (1-1, 1-0) and Tygers (0-1, 0-1) will complete the home-and-home series today at Mansfield Senior, weather permitting. Tuesday’s game was originally scheduled to be played at Mansfield Senior, but Arlin Field wasn’t playable.
“We have not been on our field at all yet,” second-year Mansfield Senior coach Roy Steward said. “We’ve only had one scrimmage and that was two weeks ago.
“Going against Curvin in the opener without having the chance to get outside much is tough. It’s hard to simulate that in the gym.”
As overpowering as he was — he had eight strikeouts and surrendered just one walk — Curvin was without one of the primary weapons in his arsenal.
“My curveball was working well and I had command of my fastball for pretty much the entire game, but I was having trouble spotting my change-up,” said Curvin, who threw 49 of his 78 pitches for strikes. “Overall, though, I was pretty happy with my performance.”
So was Madison coach Doug Rickert.
“He didn’t have his change-up today, but Bo does a good job of making adjustments,” Rickert said. “He came out here and struggled a little bit early on, but was able to adjust on his own where a lot of kids can’t do that.”
It helps being a four-year starter.
“I can usually figure out what’s wrong without coach coming out to have a conference on the mound,” Curvin said. “For example, if I’m throwing high and inside I know my arm is behind my release. I can make self adjustments like that. I’ll throw a pitch and analyze why it ended up where it did.
“Over the years you pick up a lot of things. I’m still picking up things on my own.”
On a day when sustained winds blew out to center field at 20 mph, the Rams struck early. Madison plated a pair of runs in the home half of the first and scored eight more in the second.
“Even the best outfielders are going to struggle on a day like today,” Rickert said. “It’s tough. You’ve probably got 50 mile an hour gusts at times.”
The wind caused all sorts of problems for the Tygers.
“The wind was blowing and we just didn’t make any plays,” Steward said. “To their credit, they put the ball in play. If we make some plays, maybe it’s a different game.
“We’re starting four sophomores and they were a little hesitant. A couple of them were really nervous.”
Madison scored two more runs in the bottom of the third before Senior High scratched out a run in the top of the fourth. Mitch Nixon drew a one-out walk and moved to third on Curtis French’s clean single to right. Nixon came home on Dustin Cushing’s RBI groundout.
“We’ve got some guys who can swing the bat a little bit,” Steward said. “We were 4-21 last year and we are expecting to take a step up this year.”
The Rams, meanwhile, return a wealth of talent from last year’s district-qualifying team. Curvin and pitcher Blake Lampert are both four-year lettermen. An offseason spent in the weight room has already proved beneficial to the offense.
“Our guys are bigger and stronger than they were a year ago and they hit the ball a little harder,” Rickert said. “We hit the ball well against Mount Vernon (a 5-2 loss Monday). We left 11 on base and that was the difference.
“Mount Vernon is a good club — scouts from Xavier, Wright State and Kent were at the game Monday — but we could have easily won that game. We were right there with them. I think we outplayed them.”
Madison got contributions up and down the lineup Tuesday. Kyle Galco had a pair of hits and drove in two runs, while Kyle Blust drove in two and scored twice. Lampert and Hunter Ackerman both doubled.
Tuesday was the closest Curvin has ever come to a no-hitter.
“It’s a family curse. My cousin (Todd Chance) played here and he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before he gave up a hit,” Curvin said. “I was close tonight. I’ll take it.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
“It’s a family curse. My cousin (Todd Chance) played here and he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before he gave up a hit,” Curvin said. “I was close tonight. I’ll take it.”
