Photo by Kim North Martins Ferry shortstop Colby Kropka tags out St. Clairsville’s Caleb Keenan during the bottom of the fourth inning Monday. The Red Devils posted a 11-1 win in five innings, 11-1.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A perfect 10.

St. Clairsville (10-0) remained the only undefeated high school baseball team in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Monday with a 11-1 victory over visiting Martins Ferry on the sun-splashed Memorial Park diamond.

The Red Devils broke open a scoreless game with nine runs in the bottom of the third inning and never looked back. Highlighting the outburst were three two-run hits — a double to deep right-center by winning pitcher and Walsh University recruit Hunter Hoffman; a single up the middle by Caleb Keenan; and a triple by Marcus Bush, who will play his college ball at Otterbein University.

“Those are really big hits. I thought we hit the ball pretty good that inning,” veteran St. Clairsville head coach Tom Sliva said. “Baseball, sometimes, isn’t instantaneous, you have to work at it and I thought our kids did a good job of that.”

Niko Jacob also singled in a run during the uprising, as did Braylen Blomquist, a Wright State University signee.

Martins Ferry scored its lone run in the top of the fifth on a bases-loaded walk to Alex Reese. It came following consecutive singles by Turner Krol, Elijah Smith and Luca Shane. Hoffman got out of further damage with a strikeout and a ground ball to Blomquist near the bag at second for an inning-ending double play.

“I thought he made some good pitches, but, obviously, Martins Ferry is a good team and they put the bat on the ball and found some holes,” Sliva said. “He did a nice job of getting that grounder to Braylen for the double play.

The Red Devils scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to institute the 10-run mercy rule.

Jacob led off with a single and advanced to third on a two-bases throwing error on Rowyn Mellott’s bunt. Blomquist walked and Bush lofted a flyball to shallow left that was dropped for an error, but Mellott was forced at third. Blomquist and Bush advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch and Hoffman walked to load the bases. Mikey Balgo lined the first pitch he saw down the third base line as Blomquist scored to end things.

“Mikey got a nice swing on the ball down the line,” Sliva recalled.

Hoffman also received some defensive support in the first inning as Mellott layed out in right-center to make a diving catch on a sinking liner by Hunter Shutler. It was Shutler who broke up the perfect game with a bloop single to right with one out in the fourth.

“There wasn’t a trophy presentation tonight. The stupidest thing in sports is those regular-season win counters,” Martins Ferry head coach Anthony Reasbeck said. “Dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. You don’t get a trophy for winning a game on a Monday. I’d sure as heck rather get a trophy than a regular season win.

“They are better than us. Being young is a built-in excuse to people in the Ohio Valley,” he continued. “Young guys need to win a trophy and we’ve got to get better to do that.”

Both teams are at home today as St. Clairsville welcomes Wheeling Park and Martins Ferry hosts Buckeye Local.