High School Softball: Power rankings for Chillicothe-area teams following Week 6

CHILLICOTHE — High school softball's regular season is all but over. Playoff seeding is no longer an implication. Within the next week, area teams will begin their prospective tournament runs.

In the meantime, the final days of the regular season have wrapped up. Unioto won the Gold Ball for the first time in 26 years. Zane Trace slid to a win over Westfall, and Piketon locked down sole control of third place in the Scioto Valley Conference standings.

With the final week of the regular season winding down, it's time to see how every conference team compares to one another. Here are power rankings for all 10 Chillicothe-area softball teams following the sixth week of action.

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10. Paint Valley Bearcats (1-13, 2-21 Scioto Valley Conference)

Potential is something the Bearcats have without a doubt. They were able to hang eight runs on Huntington and gave Westfall a run for its money last week, but they've had to deal with stiff competition closing out the regular season. If its offense gets moving early and it can hold firm on defense, it can give Symmes Valley a game in the postseason.

9. Southeastern Panthers (1-13, 3-21 SVC)

The Panthers are trying to find their feet, and they've given a good fight in their losses to Adena and Huntington, but they've come up just short. Its potential bracket isn't going to get much easier. It'll have to fight past South Point for a chance at back-to-back reigning Division III state champion Wheelersburg.

8. Waverly Tigers (8-14, 1-9 Southern Ohio Conference III)

The Tigers broke their last three-game losing streak last week after toppling Northwest 8-6 on Thursday, but they've been hit by another three-game skid after losses to Miami Trace, Minford and Chillicothe. April wasn't kind to the Tigers, and they've got a tough test coming up in a sectional matchup against Jackson next week.

7. Huntington Huntsmen (14-10, 6-8 SVC)

A nonconference win over Washington and two more SVC wins over Southeastern and Paint Valley are nice, but the one-run loss to Piketon might dampen the mood a bit. On the flip side, Savannah Bushatz has been coming up big at the plate as of late, and she's bound to make a difference when the Huntsmen go toe-to-toe with Crooksville next week.

6. Westfall Mustangs (7-11, 7-7 SVC)

The bright side of the past few days for the Mustangs is that their two most recent losses have come by one run each. One of those losses was against Unioto, which should say plenty about the potential of the Mustangs heading into the playoffs. Considering their first postseason game is against a winless Federal Hocking, the Mustangs have the first step of the path well under wraps.

5. Zane Trace Pioneers (9-10, 7-7 SVC)

Zane Trace is in a unique position as of Thursday morning. Last week, it sat behind both Westfall and Piketon as the two fought for third place in the standings. It knocked off Westfall in a 1-0 win on Wednesday, and it's lined up against Piketon in the playoffs next week. A little momentum wouldn't hurt, especially with playoffs on the line.

4. Chillicothe Cavaliers (13-10, 5-5 Frontier Athletic Conference)

A split weekend for the Cavaliers after dropping a home-and-home to Jackson, but still some success came with it. They managed a win over Waverly on Wednesday and shut out Logan 12-0 on Friday. Does it translate in the Divsion I bracket? That remains to be seen, but one thing is certain, the Cavaliers are on the up.

3. Piketon Redstreaks (14-9, 9-5 SVC)

The biggest bummer for the Redstreaks over this past week was the losses in extra innings to McClain and Adena last Thursday and Friday. On the bright side, the Redstreaks snuck in wins over Huntington and Paint Valley on the rebound. Both wins will boost the Redstreaks a bit ahead of their playoff game against Zane Trace next week.

2. Adena Warriors (18-5, 11-3 SVC)

It's not an SVC title like last season, but the Warriors have been doing quite well for themselves in the interim. An extra-innings win over Piketon and another win over Southeastern isn't bad to build up to the playoffs. Division III is a tough bracket in Southeast Ohio, but the Warriors are getting their kicks in before their first playoff game next week.

1. Unioto Shermans (19-3, 14-0 SVC)

Gold Ball? Check. First undefeated record in the SVC since 1998? Also check. The Shermans stuck the landing with a confident 11-1 win over Adena on Wednesday and became the first Shermans teams in over 25 years to lock the Gold Ball down. That's no small feat, and the Shermans passed with flying colors.

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: High School Softball: Power rankings for Chillicothe-area teams following Week 6