Photo by Kim North St. Clairsville’s Roby Hanna slides safely into third base during a regular season game against Union Local. The Red Devils meet Indian Creek on Saturday at the Edison Unified Sports Complex for the OVAC 4A championship.

RICHMOND — St. Clairsville and Indian Creek have cultivated a real rivalry on the diamond in recent years. In the latest chapter of what is becoming a full-length novel, Indian Creek got the better of St. Clairsville, 10-8, in the regional semifinals, with Creek going on to the state semifinals.

But when it comes to the OVAC championship, it’s the Red Devils who have had bragging rights.

On Saturday at 1:45 p.m. at the Edison Unified Sports Complex, St. C. and Creek will battle for the OVAC 4A title for the third year in a row, with the Red Devils winning each of the last two meetings.

“Third year in a row, we sure know them pretty well,” St. Clairsville head coach Tom Sliva said of Indian Creek in an interview Friday. “They’re a well-coached team with a lot of talent and we have our work cut out for us. The kids are pretty pumped to get back to [the championship] for the third year in a row. We know it’s a really tough opponent and a tall task but we’re excited.”

“The last couple of years we’ve had some really big games against each other,” Indian Creek coach Mike Cottis said on Friday. “We know some of the guys they have back from last year’s team– Brody Saunders is their top arm, that’s who we expect to see tomorrow. He’s one of the best in the Valley and we’re excited for the matchup with him.”

Indian Creek is 11-1 heading into the game, while St. Clairsville is 11-2. Creek, the top seed in 4A, defeated Harrison Central in their OVAC quarterfinal, while second-seeded St. C. defeated Edison.

The two teams will bring similar records into a game that may revolve around the matchup on the mound.

“This is one of those games where, we’ve got Sylus Hyde on the mound for us, of course they’ve got Brody,” Cottis said. “On-paper, you look at the statistics with those two, runs could be hard to come by. We’ve got to take advantage of any opportunity we get, when we get baserunners on we need to cash in. Hopefully we can do that early.”

Hyde and Saunders have been bonafide aces for their squads this year, though both teams have strong contributors top-down.

“We’ve been riding the arms of Sylus Hyde, Sal Barcalow, Gavin Pownall has come in and closed games for us. We’ve relied on those three on the mound, if we have to use all three tomorrow we will,” Cottis said.

“Offensively, Ty Householder is one of the top bats in the area, a Marshall recruit, he’s really been hitting well– he’s over .500 right now and has hit a couple home runs. We have Hunter Rusnack, our No. 2 hitter who’s come up big in clutch situations. Barcalow and Hyde are both swinging the bat really well, those are our top four.”

Cottis also shouted-out third baseman Dom Degruttola, who he said has come on strong at the plate recently.

St. Clairsville has been led by players like Saunders, power-hitting seniors Micky Balgo and Colten Florence, speedy leadoff Caiden Bailey and first baseman Roby Hanna.

“It really has been a team effort,” Sliva said. “All the way down the order– sometimes the top, the middle, sometimes the bottom– it’s been a team effort and that’s what we’ll need tomorrow against a quality opponent.”

Saunders had a big part to play in the championship last year, pitching a complete game and hitting a bases-clearing double.

Though they’ve come tantalizingly close, Indian Creek is searching for their first conference OVAC championship since 2003. Meanwhile, St. Clairsville is seeking yet another conference crown in what would be a historic achievement for the Red Devils upperclassmen.

“We’re excited for the opportunity for sure,” Cottis said. “The boys, they’ve been working hard all off season to get to this point, and they’re playing with a lot of confidence right now, with a lot of guys back from last year’s team. It certainly helps having experience.”

“They’d like to end it on a good note,” Sliva said of his seniors. “They know they’ve got a lot of work to do on Saturday to get there. I hope they’re ready.”