Mellown and Crawford make most of summer league competition

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Huntingdon pitchers Carden Mellown and John Crawford took advantage of their opportunities this summer.

The rising Huntingdon seniors spent the past two months playing baseball in a pair of summer collegiate leagues. Mellown is pitching for the Charlottesville Tom Sox in the Valley League and Crawford pitched for the Valley Center Mud Daubers in the Kansas Collegiate League Baseball.

"This has been a great opportunity for both of them," Huntingdon baseball coach D.J. Conville said. "Carden and John have both worked hard to develop into leaders for our program. Playing in these leagues is a chance to compete against talented players from Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA and the junior college level. Being able to compete against the level of competition they have faced this summer is only going to make them better."

The Valley League, which consists of 11 teams, was founded in 1897, became an NCAA-sanctioned league in 1961 and has been a wood-bat league since 1993. The KCBL was formed in 1999 and currently includes 10 teams.

Mellown and the Tom Sox wrapped up the regular season this week and will enter the Valley League playoffs as the South Division runner-up. Crawford's team wrapped up its season on July 16.  

Earlier this week, Mellown was named the Valley League Pitcher of the Day for his performance in Monday's 8-3 win over the Strasburg Express. Mellown threw five shutout innings, striking out four, walking two and allowing two hits.

In nine appearances this summer, Mellown is 3-2 with a 5.80 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 31 innings. Mellown is tied for fourth in the league in wins and is third on the Tom Sox in strikeouts.

Crawford appeared in 10 games with the Mud Daubers and posted a 4.97 ERA, 39 strikeouts and 14 walks in 33 innings. According to the KCBL website, he recorded 21 strikeouts in his final 17 innings and ranked seventh in the league in strikeouts.