The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Time to scout tourneys
A look at upcoming high school baseball sectional-district tournaments involving area teams:
Division I
EUCLID DISTRICT
TOP SEEDS » 2 Jackson, 5 Green, 7 Twinsburg, 10 Roosevelt
OTHER AREA TEAMS » 17 Kenston, 19 Mentor, 24 North, 25 South, 28 Brush, 29 Harvey
FAVORITES » Jackson, Green
UP NEXT » District champion advances to Louisville Regional
MACEDONIA DISTRICT
TOP SEEDS » 1 Walsh Jesuit, 8 Riverside, 9 Massillon, 12 Mayfield
OTHER AREA TEAMS » 30 Madison, 31 Euclid
FAVORITES » Walsh Jesuit
UP NEXT » District champion advances to Louisville Regional
OUTLOOK » Riverside has seen a balanced attack from the batter’s box, with Dylan May and Andrew Perry batting over .350 and three other players batting over .300. The Beavers also have four players with over 10 RBI led by Owen Meacham and his 19. Tyler Baker has emerged as the ace of the team with his five wins and 2.51 ERA from the mound. But it’s no easy task for Riverside if it hopes to reach the district round. The Beavers host a sectional final and Mayfield or 22 seed Solon. The Comets have recorded wins over Ignatius, Chagrin Falls and Avon and will prove to not be an easy out for Mayfield or Riverside. But the Mayfield bats have found some life in the latter half of the season with Austin Ziance recording three home runs and batting .389. Matt Snider and Patrick Dinnen follow with two homers each, and Dylan Gamber leads the Wildcats with a .393 batting average. Whoever emerges from that sectional quadrant will matchup with Massillon in a district semifinal.
Division II
STRUTHERS DISTRICT
TOP SEEDS » 1 Canfield, 4 Chardon, 6 Field, 8 Perry, 9 Hubbard
OTHER AREA TEAMS » 16 Geneva
FAVORITES » Canfield, Chardon
UP NEXT » District champion advances to Canton Regional
OUTLOOK » The top two seeds recently met and Chardon was able to hold off a Canfield rally in an 8-6 victory. The Chardon bats see four players batting over .300 with Christian Hall (.455) and Jake Barker (.350) leading the way. Barker also has recorded 24 RBI, with eight doubles and three triples. Nolan Kirsh (four wins, 2.20 ERA, 40 strikeouts) and Brandon Fatur (three wins, 1.68 ERA) are a strong 1-2 combo on the mound for the Hilltoppers. Perry is also a team to watch in the top half of the bracket. Freshman Owen McKoon has made an immediate impact as he leads The News-Herald coverage area with 31 RBI, and with the speed of Isaiah Hass and Brock Sivon ahead of him in the batting order, McKoon has a chance to drive in runs with every trip to the plate. Jason Pentek (four wins, 2.71 ERA, 45 strikeouts) and Collin Brooks (three wins, 2.22 ERA, 31 strikeouts) are another duo from the mound to watch. However, Geneva isn’t an easy task in the sectional semifinals for Perry. While Hunter Wilt is batting .378, the Eagles have a strong hitting lineup that can see anyone be the hot bat when needed.
LOUISVILLE DISTRICT
TOP SEEDS » 2 Marlington, 3 Salem, 5 Louisville, 7 West Branch
OTHER AREA TEAMS » 18
NDCL, 21 West Geauga
FAVORITES » Marlington, Salem
UP NEXT » District champion advances to Canton Regional OUTLOOK » While they come into the postseason as an 18 seed, keep an eye on NDCL. The Lions had tough luck when it came to dealing with mother nature, but when they did take the diamond, they pushed teams such as Walsh Jesuit, Lake Catholic and St. Edward. Sam Slodic leads the way for them with a .373 batting average with 16 RBI and eight doubles. Hot on his tail is teammate Ryan Moskal with a .372 batting average and leads the Lions in wins (three) and ERA (1.85). They reached the district semifinal last year as a 10 seed and look to recapture that magic for another run this season. TWINSBURG DISTRICT TOP SEEDS » 2 Tallmadge, 4 University, 10 Buckeye, 12 Lake Catholic
OTHER AREA TEAMS » None
FAVORITES » Tallmadge, University
UP NEXT: DISTRICT CHAMPION ADVANCES TO CANTON REGIONAL OUTLOOK » University enters the postseason with one of the most well-balanced batting orders. Leadoff batter Ben Elliot is batting .429 to lead the Preppers, with Aaron Moss and Ryan Pattison hitting over .350. David Faremouth leads the team in RBI (26), with Pattison just behind him (24). Jae Smith is also the area leader in stolen bases with 22. The strong approach from the batter’s box has been met with equally strong pitching. Evan Shapiro is tied for the area lead with seven wins to go with a 0.58 ERA and 65 punchouts. Moss, Elliott and Ryan Tyler follow with three wins apiece. University has recorded wins over CVCA, SVSM and Hoban in May, all of which are in the same region as the Preppers. Lake Catholic would meet University in a district semifinal should it beat Bard Early College and upset Medina Buckeye in their sectional final. The Cougars have three bats hitting over .300, and AJ Trobenter leads the way with 18 RBI. The pitching rotation is led by sophomore Matthew Tierno, who has pushed his way to the top of the rotation with his four wins, 1.65 ERA and 43 strikeouts. RICHFIELD DISTRICT TOP SEEDS: 1 CVCA, 5 CHAGRIN FALLS, 7 SVSM OTHER AREA TEAMS » 23 Benedictine
FAVORITES » CVCA, Chagrin Falls
UP NEXT » District champion advances to Canton Regional
OUTLOOK » It’s been success by distribution for the Tigers when it comes to their batting order, as only Donny Hardy is hitting over .350 but three others are hitting over .300. This has led to five players having 15 or more RBI, with Andrew Kirkpatrick leading the way with 25. Chagrin Falls does bring a lot of power as well with Kirkpatrick leading the way again with three home runs. Leo Fornara and Andrew Bazzone just behind him with two each. The duo of Kirkpatrick and Fornara are also strong from the mound as they’ve accounted for 11 of the Tigers 15 wins and Kirkpatrick tied for the area lead with seven wins. Fornara has a 0.65 ERA and is second in the area in strikeouts with 83. If the seeds hold, it will be a challenging district semifinal for the Tigers, as they would see SVSM. The Fighting Irish beat Chagrin Falls, 5-2, earlier this season and whoever walks away victorious in the rematch would see top seeded CVCA in the district final.
NORTH RIDGEVILLE DISTRICT TOP SEEDS » 3 Hoban, 6 Triway, 8 Norton, 9 Firelands
OTHER AREA TEAMS » 14 Beachwood
FAVORITES » Hoban, Triway
UP NEXT » District champion advances to Bowling Green Regional
OUTLOOK » Beachwood comes into the postseason with momentum from its first CVC title in seven years after a victory over Independence to claim the Metro championship. Brenden Malek has been a strong bat for the Bison, as he’s hitting .386 BA and 15 RBI. Luke Bennett has also been a strong leadoff batter with his .324 batting average and nine doubles. Beachwood also features three really strong pitchers with Brett Zawatsky, Josh Rosenblitt and Malek. All three have ERAs of 2.00, with Zawatsky leading the rotation with five wins while Rosenblitt and Malek have 52 and 45 strikeouts, respectively. The Bison should be a tough out for anyone in the tournament.