May 26—Rainouts caused some havoc in the softball tournament schedule as games were delayed for multiple days. The district round was concluded on Monday, May 25, and now it’s on to regionals starting Wednesday, May 27.
The highest-seeded team from the Miami Valley in all seven divisions captured district titles and are two wins from a trip to Akron. Centerville, Covington, Kenton Ridge, Lebanon, and Tri-Village, all of whom made it to state a year ago, are alive in their attempts to win back-to-back regional titles. Carlisle, Shawnee, Southeastern and Troy are looking to secure their school’s first-ever trips to state.
Here’s a look at the games involving teams from the Miami Valley before regionals get underway:
All regional semifinal games will be played on Wednesday, May 27.
Division I
* No. 1 Centerville (22-7) vs. No. 5 Lebanon (20-9)
* 2 p.m. at Miami Softball Stadium
This will be the second rematch from last season’s state title game. Lebanon is on the path to defending its D-I title and has already defeated Centerville again 7-0 earlier this season.
Lebanon has two shutouts this postseason. It run-ruled Middletown and then defeated Springboro in its district title game. Centerville, the Greater Western Ohio Conference champions, shutout Walnut Hills, defeated Lakota West 10-3, and has won 9 of its last 10 since the loss to Lebanon.
Centerville’s Natalie Carr co-leads the GWOC with a .573 average and has 12 home runs. Caitlyn Belcher is the GWOC triple crown leader in ERA (2.56), wins (20), and strikeouts (171).
Sophia Sheidler is rounding into form for Lebanon with 47 strikeouts to eight walks issued in her last 31 innings. Sophie Abrams, Brianna Carter and Sheidler all are batting over .400
.
* No. 3 Lakota East (24-5) vs. No. 6 Mason (18-11)
* 5 p.m. at Miami Softball Stadium
Lakota East beat Colerain in its first tournament game and held off Beavercreek 5-3 to win a district title. Mason won a pair of close games against West Clermont and Milford.
The Thunderhawks won both regular season meetings between the two teams on their way to capturing the Greater Miami Conference title.
Kaleigh Crawford co-leads the GMC with a 1.16 ERA for East. Haley Thompson is one of the league’s top power hitters with 10 home runs and 41 RBI.
Mason’s Leah Hugenberg has stepped up with consecutive complete game performances and has allowed only one earned run in the postseason.
The two D-I winners play in a regional final at 5 p.m. Friday.
Division II
* No. 2 Troy (26-3) vs. No. 6 Northmont (18-10)
* 5 p.m. at Mason
Troy won its first 20 games of the season. The Trojans have cruised in two tournament wins over Miamisburg and St. Ursula.
Northmont began the year 2-5 and got things going with a comeback win against Tri-Village and later beat fellow regional qualifiers Centerville and Tippecanoe.
Mimi Shaw is batting .628, slugging 1.085, and has stolen 34 bases for Troy. Its pitching duo of Reese Campbell and Julia Rose have a collective 1.65 ERA, 146 strikeouts and seven shutouts.
Jadyn Johnson leads Northmont in nearly every batting statistic while also being the top pitcher for the Thunderbolts.
Troy won the first meeting 10-6 in the first game of the season for both teams.
The winner faces either No. 1 Kings (26-1) or No. 5 Little Miami (20-9) at 5 p.m. Friday.
Division III
* No. 1 Greenville (28-1) vs. No. 4 Tippecanoe (18-12)
* 5 p.m. at Newton
Greenville, ranked second in the state, has not lost since its opening game of the season. It has allowed three total runs in its last 13 games, with a pair of wins over Troy and one over Centerville, and has yet to be scored against in three postseason wins.
Tippecanoe had a losing skid reach six games during the middle portion of its schedule, but has since won 10 of 12. The Red Devils followed a pair of blowout wins over Stivers and Bellefontaine to begin the postseason with a 5-0 victory against Goshen.
Ella Oswalt leads the Miami Valley League champions as the league’s triple crown pitching champ with an area leading 0.43 ERA, 213 strikeouts and 21 wins. She and Lizzie Shaffer both have at least 50 RBI at the plate this season for Greenville.
Aubrey Davis (.464), Charlize McCormick (.506) and Aryia Snell (.524) are the top hitters for Tippecanoe.
Greenville won the two regular season meetings 17-1 and 11-4.
The winner faces either No. 1 Western Brown (27-3) or No. 2 Clear Fork (23-7) at 5 p.m. Friday.
Division IV
* No. 1 Kenton Ridge (28-0) vs. No. 3 Ca
* rlisle (22-7)
* 2 p.m. at Centerville
Kenton Ridge has plated 90 consecutive runs since a team last scored against the Cougars. The state’s top ranked team enters the game with five straight shutout wins, including all three postseason games against Meadowdale, Greenon and Roger Bacon, and have won its last 16 games all by at least five runs.
Carlisle, which won the Southwestern Buckeye League’s Buckeye Division, is riding an 11-game winning streak of its own. The Indians routed Waynesville and Urbana before beating Clinton Massie 3-0.
Brenna Fyffe of KR has already set the state’s individual career RBI record with 227 and counting, and is also chasing records for career runs scored, which she is five from tying, and single-season home runs hit. Ivee Rastatter, Kendall Glass, Jayden Davis, Kendall Massie and Lily Foulk help create a relentless lineup.
Carlisle’s Grace Holt, the SWBL’s pitcher of the year, has been stellar over the last month with a 0.53 ERA, a WHIP of 0.854, and 86 strikeouts pitched in her last 10 appearances.
The winner faces either No. 1 Cleves Taylor (20-3) or No. 2 Caledonia River Valley (19-7) at 5 p.m. Friday.
Division V
* No. 3 Arcanum (21-9) vs. No. 3 Piketon (27-3)
* 2 p.m. at Indian Hill
Arcanum’s bats can light up the scoreboard, as seen during its 21-0 win over Williamsburg in the district title game. The Trojans defeated Dixie and Anna also this postseason.
Piketon won a 13-10 shootout over Frankfort Adena to reach regionals. The champions of the Scioto Valley Conference are led by a power hitting trio of Aubrey Heath, Addy Blakeman and Jaylin Forbes. All have hit at least nine home runs.
Cam and Jordyn Garbig lead the Arcanum hitting attack. Matty Noe’s 26 stolen bases lead a Trojans team that has compiled more than 100 as a team this season.
* No. 1 Shawnee (27-3) vs. No. 2 Miami East (23-5)
* 5 p.m. at Indian Hill
Shawnee has been on a mission to begin tournament play. The Braves have combined to outscore Milton-Union, Versailles and Reading 44-0.
Miami East are the champions of the Three Rivers Conference. After handling Dayton Christian and Greeneview, the Vikings rallied for three runs in the seventh to win a district title against Georgetown and keep its season alive.
Byanca Dubie is one of the area’s top two-way players for Shawnee. Ava George hits .521, and Lily Wilson bats .495 with 36 RBI and 19 stolen bases.
A pair of seniors lead Miami East. Madi Grube was one of the TRC’s top hitters with a .523 average, and Kylie Gentis led the league with a 2.84 ERA.
Shawnee finished the regular season ranked third in the final state poll, and Miami East was fourth.
The two D-V winners play in the regional final at 5 p.m. Friday.
Division VI
* No. 1 Tri-Village (21-5) vs. No. 1 Fayetteville-Perry (10-9)
* 2 p.m. at Bellefontaine
Three run-rule victories for Tri-Village has allowed them to cruise to a district title. The state’s top ranked team and defending champions endured rain delays like many other area teams but the Patriots have displayed no signs of letting it bother them.
Fayetteville entered the postseason with a losing record but consecutive wins over East Clinton and Tri-County North has the Rockets into regionals. Chloe Cox and Addie Rugenstein are the team’s leaders at the plate.
Tri-Village’s Emma Greer was the Western Ohio Athletic Conference player of the year for the league champs with a .675 average, seven home runs and 41 RBI. Caley McCaroll led the WOAC with a 2.29 ERA while Elizabeth Poling currently has a 2.67 ERA.
The winner faces either No. 1 Ada (24-4) or No. 1 Danville (21-5), or Central 1 at noon Saturday.
Division VII
* No. 1 Southeastern (26-3) vs. No. 1 Hardin Northern (19-3)
* 2 p.m. at Wapakoneta
Southeastern had to wait until Monday for its district title game against New Miami which it won 22-0. The Trojans have also defeated Fort Loramie and Ansonia on their path to regionals.
Hardin Northern were unbeaten champions of the Northwest Central Conference. The Polar Bears cruised to a district title over Continental.
The Wells twins, Kaylee and Reese, have powered Southeastern toward another run at state.
* No. 3 Covington (24-6) vs. No. 1 New Riegel (22-3)
* 4:30 p.m. at Wapakoneta
One of the state’s highest scoring teams in history needed every run it could get to survive a 6-5 win against Russia in the district final. Covington is the sixth team in state history to score at least 400 runs in a season as the Buccaneers attempt to make a repeat run to the state semifinals.
New Riegel crushed Arlington 18-0 in its district final. The Blue Jackets have allowed one total run in their last 10 games and finished the regular season ranked eighth in the state.
Emalyn Johnson is the Three Rivers Conference’s triple crown batting champion, hitting .667 with 19 home runs and 70 RBI. Her sidekick, Jayda McClure, has been as impressive with a .520 average, 14 home runs and 60 RBI.
The two D-VII winners play in the regional final at 5 p.m. Friday.